Tony Blair has completed his much-criticised reshuffle with a major shake-up of the government's middle ranks aimed at setting Labour on course for the next general election.
He made wide-ranging changes to the second tier of government, but controversially backed away from some of the most difficult decisions by leaving his entire Cabinet intact.
Ministers including Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam, Health Secretary Frank Dobson and Cabinet "enforcer" Jack Cunningham were all untouched, despite widespread speculation they were set to be moved or even sacked.
The decision saw Mr Blair accused of "bottling out" of the hard choices and of displaying a lack of leadership.
But he also promoted a bevy of new talent who will be expected to carry the New Labour torch into the next election campaign and who will form the next Labour government.
The reshuffle in the lower ranks was far wider than expected and ensures that the government is entirely populated by Blairites.
Under attack
The new ministers will now have a year to prove themselves before Mr Blair carries out the big reshuffle which could finally see some of the more famous names axed.
He also used the changes to clip the wings of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott who lost two of his most loyal allies - Alan Meale and Richard Caborn.
Mr Prescott has come under attack for failing to deliver on his transport policies and is frustrated that he does not get enough support from Downing Street.
There were fears that a Prescott camp was developing in his department that was not under the control of Downing Street.
Mr Blair has put paid to that and, with the appointment of Lord Gus Macdonald to Mr Prescott's department, has ensured he has a loyalist in the camp.
Many critics, which include a number of Labour backbenchers, are convinced that the prime minister had originally planned a more far-reaching reshuffle but was faced down by ministers - including Mr Dobson and Dr Mowlam - who publicly jockeyed for their positions.
There is no doubt that the prime minister and his Downing Street spin doctors relished the idea of wrong footing the media.
It was a deliberate tactic but it backfired dramatically and led to claims that the prime minister did not have a grip on his government.
Missed opportunity
He now stands accused of missing an opportunity to revive his top team and breath some new life into the government which, after an unusually long political honeymoon, is finally running into some rough water.
Downing Street is insisting that there were never any plans for a big reshuffle and is pointing to the fact that spokesmen spent the past few weeks shrugging off all the speculation.
There is no imperative to hold a reshuffle in July and former prime ministers, notably Margaret Thatcher, often postponed them until the autumn.
The prime minister is also eager to prove he is in charge of events and can not be bounced into action by media speculation.
But the tactic blew up in his face. Much of the speculation was actually fanned by statements from ministers - particularly Dr Mowlam and Mr Dobson - and Downing Street patently failed to damp things down.
Not for the first time, the much-hyped Labour spin machine failed and allowed the gossip to run on. A few careful words from Alastair Campbell would have nipped all that in the bud.
It is still possible that there will be another reshuffle in the autumn, but Mr Blair may now wait until next summer to recast his team in time for the next general election.
One of the prime minister's big problems was that there are no "big names" to take over from Cabinet ministers. Veterans like Frank Dobson, Margaret Beckett and Jack Cunningham are recognised by the public.
The newcomers like, Charles Clarke, Melanie Johnson and Patricia Hewitt may be talented, but they are still anonymous.
So one of the big advantages of reshuffling the middle ranks is that it will give these ministers a chance to shine and, come next year, their public profiles will have been significantly boosted.
Mr Blair's hope is that, in 12 months time, these ministers will have grown into their jobs and become household names - he will then be in position to put them in the top jobs.
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