The appointment of Sir Ronnie Flanagan as one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary might be described as a British solution to an Irish problem - or more precisely, a Northern Irish one.
The Chief Constable and the Ombudsman, Mrs Nuala O'Loan, remain at loggerheads over Omagh. Meanwhile, the crucial issue of police reform remains ominously politicised. An element of flexibility has to be injected into the situation. Sir Ronnie's departure at the end of March may help to provide it.
The Chief Constable's appointment to a prestigious post in the inspectorate represents an endorsement from the political and administrative establishment in London. His detractors may be keen to represent him as leaving the field to a vindicated Mrs O'Loan. But Westminster and Whitehall are giving him full honours.
That he was damaged by the Ombudsman's report on Omagh, is beyond doubt. But he has been a strong leader at a time of critical change. A lesser person would not have provided the stability, discipline and commitment to duty which have been required as policing in Northern Ireland goes through the metamorphosis from RUC to PSNI.
Ultimately, in such a process of change, old leadership must yield to new. Sir Ronnie would have been willing to serve until the autumn, it appears. But yesterday's proceedings at the Policing Board confirmed the continuing division between nationalists and unionists in regard to his stewardship. His withdrawal may provide the basis for a fresh start.
The future policing of Northern Ireland will require high levels of operational effectiveness and an acceptance of a culture of far-reaching accountability. These, in turn, will have to be grounded on cross-community acceptance of, and support for, the new police. Police effectiveness and police accountability may often conflict with each other - in great measure this is what lies behind the conflict between Chief Constable and Ombudsman over Omagh. But can the Policing Board do better with a new Chief Constable or is it inevitable that will there be recurrences of the kind of tensions which grew up over Omagh?
The portents cannot be good unless the politicians can first establish a consensus on policing which reaches across the entire community. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, called on Sinn Féin this week to take its places on the Policing Board - a call which drew an immediately negative response from the party in the form of an article in this newspaper by Mr Gerry Kelly. The two governments know very well that if politicians on all sides cannot abandon their respective trenches, the sort of polarisation which saw the Policing Board divide 9-9 yesterday, will continue. Police performance will not be judged on a fair and dispassionate basis but on the basis of sectarian gain or loss.
Sir Ronnie Flanagan's successor will be as effective - or otherwise - in advancing reform as the politicians will permit. Policing will always reflect the political realities within which it is obliged to operate.