The Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, has taken a step forward in his campaign to become the next Taoiseach as a result of a successful party conference.
Publication of a limited political programme set the tone for the event and invalidated much of Fianna Fáil's recent criticisms. But a considerable amount of work remains to be done if the electorate is to be convinced that Fine Gael and its potential partners - the Labour Party and the Green Party - are capable of innovative, cohesive and responsible government.
There is no denying that the Coalition Government lost the confidence of the public in recent months as a result of poor decision-making, wasteful spending and an inability to get things done.
But faltering support for the coalition parties has not translated into sufficient gains to ensure that Fine Gael and the Labour Party will form the next government. And it was in that fluid political situation that Mr Kenny set out his stall.
The Fine Gael leader struck at the Government's most vulnerable points in his televised address: the length of its time in office; its waste of taxpayers' money; its arrogance and its broken promises. After eight years in power, he said, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats had brought Ireland as far as they could. By the time of the general election, they would be 10 years in government, and that was too long.
He was particularly critical of the Taoiseach for failing to set standards of accountability for his Ministers and, when things went wrong, for not enforcing such standards. As a result, he said, "nothing is anyone's fault in this government".
Offering to lead a different type of government which would create a more caring society, Mr Kenny touched on a number of key policies that had been unveiled at the conference: a community-based healthcare system to take pressure off hospitals; better childcare facilities with longer, paid parental leave; more gardaí on the streets; a greater focus on renewable energy and more effective competition.
Responding to charges that his government would be a tax-and-spend one, he said Fine Gael believed in a low-tax economy, and there was no case for increases in personal, corporate or capital taxes. As a stage in a reconstruction process, following the party's worst ever defeat in the last election, the conference was an undoubted success. Most of the right buttons were pressed. And policies were published. The image of Fine Gael as the nucleus of an acceptable, alternative government was taken forward. But there were worrying internal signs in the age profile of delegates and in a shortage of Oireachtas members with ministerial experience.
Externally, Mr Kenny was still unable to depend on support from the Green Party. And he burnt his boats with Sinn Féin. In such volatile circumstances, however, he did well.