Tony Blair's cabinet reshuffle has been widely covered in terms of what it tells us about the British Prime Minister's determination to put his personal imprint on government. Perhaps the most important move, certainly from the point of view of this island, is the one he didn't make.
Mo Mowlam is to stay on in Northern Ireland. Earlier this year there was intense speculation that the Secretary of State would be given a high-profile job in this reshuffle. She has been the outstanding success of Mr Blair's administration and the signing of the Belfast Agreement, in which she played a key role, is recognised as the most important achievement of New Labour in government. Almost any job she wanted could probably have been hers for the asking.
It would have been perfectly understandable if Dr Mowlam had decided to move on. The decision could have been justified on the grounds that much of the power currently vested in the Secretary of State will, if all goes well, shortly be transferred to the new executive. In Britain there would have been a general welcome if the guts and energy which she has brought to Northern Ireland were to be transferred to another department, for example the battleground of social security. So, before anything else, let us express a proper appreciation that Dr Mowlam has decided to stick with the job in hand, judging quite correctly that a change at the top in the NIO could have a devastating effect on morale in Northern Ireland. One has only to think back to similar moves in the past - Edward Heath's decision to recall William Whitelaw at a critical time in the life of the 1974 executive, the departure of Peter Brooke and his disastrous replacement by Sir Patrick Mayhew.
In the present case, it is true that there is a highly competent deputy in the political minister, Paul Murphy, and one with great patience for the detail of negotiation. But it has been Mo Mowlam's gutsy personal approach, her indefatigable optimism and willingness to take risks which have been the most important factors in cajoling, coaxing and pushing Northern Ireland's fractious parties into an agreement which many people thought would never be signed. We need her bustling presence around more than ever just now, to ensure that the accord is safely bedded down.
In recent weeks there has been, in some quarters, a tendency to laud Tony Blair's personal involvement in the peace process at the expense of Dr Mowlam. Unionist politicians have given the impression that they are interested only in dealing directly with the Prime Minister. Mr Blair has gone along with this to a degree which has sometimes been extremely ill advised. It is probably true that in the immediate wake of the signing of the Belfast Agreement, given the widespread worry among sections of the unionist community, the Prime Minister's personal appearances in Northern Ireland were crucial to securing the 71 per cent Yes vote in the referendum on the accord.
But there have been other interventions by Mr Blair, notably over Drumcree, which have been much less constructive. The effect has been to undermine the Prime Minister's own political clout in Northern Ireland, while at the same time appearing to show a lack of confidence in Dr Mowlam.
Drumcree was always going to be a very difficult situation. With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to say that the politicians should have foreseen this and taken more active steps to avert the crisis. But the long and frustrating months of negotiations leading to Good Friday, the tensions of the referendum campaign followed by the Assembly elections all conspired to push the search for a compromise down the agenda.
But once the Parades Commission had given its ruling, the task for the Secretary of State, in co-operation with the Chief Constable of the RUC, was to enforce it. For Tony Blair to offer talks to the Orange Order, and to follow this by sending his personal aide to try and broker a deal, was bad politics. It sent a message that any dissident group which is not happy with decisions taken at local level in Northern Ireland has only to apply to Downing Street to get an audience with the Prime Minister, a signal of weakness particularly dangerous in a situation where the group in question is threatening to defy the law. In the event, the danger of the Drumcree standoff escalating into serious confrontation across Northern Ireland was averted, though at the appalling cost of the lives of the three young Quinn brothers. It was a tragedy that should never have happened, but these deaths did mark a defining moment in bringing the necessary leadership from church and political leaders.
The coming weeks and months will bring other challenges. We still have to get through the remainder of the marching season in Derry and other potential flashpoints. In the longer term, the fledgling Assembly has to overcome the problems associated with decommissioning, the continuing obscenity of punishment attacks, the setting up of the executive.
These are problems which Northern Ireland's politicians, together with the Secretary of State, are going to have to resolve on their own. The time is past, or should be, when unionist politicians go running to Tony Blair whenever there is rumbling in the ranks.
If there was one lesson to emerge from Drumcree, it was that David Trimble and Seamus Mallon are going to have to learn to work together very closely, along with their parties, if the peace project is to succeed.
Some of the most important tasks that lie ahead have to do with making the agreement credible at street level. The setting up of a "civic forum" to give a voice to grass-roots opinion, the effective implementation of the many strands of the equality agenda, the restructuring and reform of the RUC, these are all issues which will demand the Secretary of State's personal attention.
As politicians break for the summer, it's a time for making end of term reports on the performances of individuals. In this State in recent weeks Jean Kennedy Smith and Senator George Mitchell have both been honoured, and quite rightly so, for their contributions to peace. It's worth remembering, though, what a critical turning point in the political mood was signalled 15 months ago when Mo Mowlam arrived and started hugging men, women and children on the streets of Belfast. We haven't been the least bit surprised that she decided to stay on this week when she could have moved to another job; it's just what we have come to expect of her. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be grateful for the care and the commitment she has shown for all the people on this island.