The difference between government and opposition is that between the substance and shadow of political power.
Yesterday, Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore picked their respective front bench spokespersons, whose job is to hold Ministers to account in the Dáil, and whose ultimate aim is to replace them in government after the next election. For the Fine Gael and Labour leaders, choosing a frontbench team to match such bold ambition presented each with a different challenge.
Mr Kenny's difficulty was how to accommodate the claims of so many TDs for preferment; some newly elected and others who had regained lost Dáil seats, following Fine Gael's 20 seat gain in the general election. Mr Gilmore, however, faced the greater difficulty. With fewer TDs from which to choose, his problem was how best to use the talent at his disposal. Yesterday, both party leaders in their respective choices made some imaginative selections. And this ensures that an effective Opposition is in place when the Dáil returns next week, at the start of the Government's third term in office.
For Mr Kenny and Fine Gael, the extra Dáil seats won have given him the scope to select a more balanced front-bench team. He has combined political experience with a bold gamble on youth. Political experience is evident in his choice of Charlie Flanagan at justice, and in his selection of Alan Shatter, who has responsibility for children. Youth is apparent in his elevation of political newcomers, James Reilly and Leo Varadkar, to handle very challenging positions in health and enterprise respectively. The Fine Gael leader, correctly, has identified two issues "of critical importance for the future", immigration and children. By creating two new frontbench posts in these areas, he has elevated them to issues of national concern. For Fine Gael, as its leader made clear yesterday, the real challenge is to become the largest party in the next Dáil, the key to government.
For Labour, Mr Gilmore, in his frontbench reshuffle, has embraced the notion of full employment with a vengeance. All 20 of its Dáil deputies and its six Senators are now on the front bench. The Labour backbencher, temporarily, has become an extinct species. Nevertheless, given the party's size, and its commitment to playing a full parliamentary role in Opposition, the move was both necessary and sensible. The Labour leader's adoption of an inclusive approach has allowed him to exploit the experience and skill of two of his predecessors. Pat Rabbitte is given responsibility for justice and Ruairi Quinn for education. Their presence on the front bench will help to raise the party's national profile.
Less convincing, however, is Mr Gilmore's selection of Brendan Howlin as spokesman on constitutional matters and law reform. In his capacity as Leas Cheann Comhairle, and with a potentially controversial referendum on children's rights on the horizon, Mr Howlin may well find that there is a conflict between his two Dáil roles; a conflict he would have been wiser to avoid.