It was back to business for the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, yesterday as he busied himself with the affairs of government, beginning the hard task of restoring confidence in his administration after the resignation of the former Northern Ireland secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson.
For his part, Mr Mandelson's short-term future appeared clearer when he confirmed his intention to stand as an MP in the next election.
The first day of life after Mr Mandelson saw Mr Blair at Downing Street with the president of Nissan, Mr Carlos Ghosn, announcing the next generation of Nissan Micras would be built in Sunderland, ending months of anxiety that the operation would be transferred to Flins, near Paris.
After delivering the good news message that Nissan was preserving 1,300 direct jobs at the plant and creating up to 500 more, Mr Blair turned to more difficult matters. Mr Mandelson was "absolutely instrumental" in the peace process in Northern Ireland, he said, but he said he understood why the media had devoted "acres" of coverage to Mr Mandelson's resignation.
However, in an effort to shift the political focus away from Mr Mandelson's departure, Mr Blair insisted schools and hospitals were at the core of the government's policies and his job as Prime Minister.
When he insisted in his resignation statement "there must be more to politics than the constant media pressure", there was speculation that Mr Mandelson might not stand in the next election.
Mr Mandelson chose his constituency newspaper as the means to confirm he would be standing for re-election. In an interview with the Hartlepool Mail's editor, Mr Harry Blackwood, he said: "I'm going to concentrate on being a good constituency MP. I intend to fight for Hartlepool and its people."
But Mr Mandelson's second resignation from government was greeted with disbelief and anger among some voters in Hartlepool. The Hartlepool Mail ran the headline "We've had enough" on Wednesday and Mr Mandelson will have to work hard to reassure some voters that they can trust him.
However, with a majority of over 17,000 at the last election, any candidate standing against Mr Mandelson would have to pull off an extraordinary coup to wipe out his entire vote.
The fallout from Mr Mandelson's resignation continued to be felt at Westminster. The Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, confirmed the inquiry into the handling of the Hinduja passport application, led by Sir Anthony Hammond QC, would begin immediately. And clearing up confusion about any future role he might play in Labour's election campaign, Downing Street said Mr Mandelson had resigned his strategic position on the party's election committee.
But the Conservative Party vice-chairman, Mr Tim Collins, suggested he was not fit to remain an MP.
"If the government are trying to tell us they have washed their hands of him . . . there can be no question of him having any role, public or private," he said.
It is unclear whether Mr Mandelson will be satisfied with working as a constituency MP after the excitement of high political office. But the Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, indicated the extent of his present ignominy when he said he might have to settle for "knocking on doors and delivering leaflets" during an election campaign.
The Tories also sough to capitalise on the charge of "insincerity" at the heart of the Blair government by raising doubts over whether Mr Mandelson should receive the £12,000 payoff he is entitled to as a former member of the Cabinet.