Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso, who last night became president of the European Commission, brings to the position political talent and obscurity in equal proportions because of the way he was appointed.
He will find it difficult to shake off the record of being the last man left standing in the topsy turvy battle between competing national and political preferences about the future of the European Union, which saw 10 or more successive candidates vetoed by one or other bloc. But he will be able to prove himself as he tackles a demanding agenda over the next five years.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is to be congratulated for bringing this bruising and obscure political process to a successful conclusion. It rounds off a highly successful Irish EU presidency, which comes to an end today - the last one we will hold in its present form.
Mr Barroso promises to encourage an EU that is "stronger, even more cohesive and just and intervening more on the international scene" and a Commission that is strong and independent. These are reassuring perspectives for the EU's smaller states. He says he is a centrist, not a free market fundamentalist. The description is belied by his political record as Portuguese prime minister for the last two years, when he presided over deep cuts in public expenditure and higher unemployment to bring state finances into balance. But such decisiveness is valued by the centre-right majority in the European Parliament which laid claim to this appointment, following the centre-left term of Mr Romano Prodi. There is a strong case for replacing this political horse-trading by a more open and competitive political process of selecting the next Commission president in five years time.
In the tasks Mr Barroso faces as Commission president he will find such experience useful. He is a champion of economic reform. Many argue this is the key challenge facing the EU as it endeavours to promote growth and employment, using the agenda laid out in the so-called Lisbon process of benchmarking best practice. France and Germany are laying claim to crucial economic portfolios in the new Commission, partly to compensate for Mr Barroso's more liberal and Atlanticist bias. Reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, presiding over negotiations on and implementation of a new budget for the enlarged EU and consolidating the euro are just some of the major economic priorities he faces, alongside absorbing new member-states and strengthening the EU's world role.
Ireland has accumulated a fund of good will by running an effective presidency; but this is no guarantee of a prominent portfolio in this Commission. In coming weeks there will be heavy bargaining about portfolios and who should fill them. To optimise Irish participation and influence in the new Commission will require a careful focus on Ireland's interests in this enlarged EU. Economic reform and high technology should be priorities. They will not be achieved if the primary purpose is simply to facilitate a Cabinet reshuffle on the home turf.