The leaders of Northern Ireland's main political parties were cautiously optimistic after meeting the new Northern Secretary at Stormont's Castle Buildings yesterday.
The Ulster Unionist delegation was the first to meet Mr Mandel son at 9.30 a.m. Afterwards, the party leader, Mr David Trimble, described the meeting as good and wide-ranging. In particular, his party had put its views on the workings of the Belfast Agreement and the Patten recommendations on policing to Mr Mandelson.
Mr Trimble refused to speculate, however, on the particular qualities which the new Northern Secretary would bring to the job.
"Obviously a change in personality, which will mean a different person with a different range of talents, may have some impact on things but it doesn't change the underlying nature of the problem, it doesn't change government policy," he said. The spotlight on the Mitchell review had made a British government reshuffle easier, he said, as the focus would not be quite as much on the actions of the new Northern Secretary.
Mr Trimble also had a brief meeting with Dr Mo Mowlam and wished her well in her new job as "Cabinet enforcer".
Next to meet Mr Mandelson was a Sinn Fein delegation led by the party's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, who said he had been "heartened" by some of Mr Mandelson's initial remarks.
"I was heartened to hear him say that he recognised that there needed to be transformation of the situation here in the North. It is very important for us to point out that nothing less than the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement is needed in the hope that we can remove forever conflict, violence and weaponry from Irish politics," he added.
Mr McGuinness criticised the UUP for sticking to its "no guns, no government" policy at its conference in Enniskillen last weekend, noting that two of the four words were "no". He added he was "not optimistic but hopeful".
"What the unionists need to recognise is that removing guns from Irish society is a collective responsibility on everybody, including the British Prime Minister. That is the big challenge," Mr McGuinness said. The DUP met Mr Mandelson in the afternoon. The party leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, afterwards said he expected him to be the "shortest Secretary of State as far as this office is concerned". Mr Mandelson's real purpose would be to help Mr Blair to get ready for the next general elections.
"Mr Blair could have not brought him in from the wilderness so quickly for an appointment that would affect England, Scotland and Wales, so he found a way to get him back as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. But that won't last very long," Dr Paisley said.
He had called on Mr Mandelson to review the appointment of the new police ombudsman, Ms Nuala O'Loan. He said Ms O'Loan had "boasted of her Catholicism" and had "no qualifications" in dealing with police matters. Her appointment was due to Dr Mowlam's eagerness to "get her into the job" just before she left hers.
Before his meeting with the new Northern Secretary, Mr Seamus Mallon, who led the SDLP delegation, said Mr Mandelson would bring "remarkable skills" to the job and he was looking forward to working with him.
"He is a very able guy. He is not the type of guy who is abrasive just for the sake of being abrasive, but he has got his own mind. He will be sharp, he will be abrasive. Of course, one could say that Northern Ireland politics is not without its abrasiveness as well," Mr Mallon added.
The RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, also held a meeting with Mr Mandelson to brief him on the security situation.