NEW Labour has delivered a stunning change of style on the streets of Belfast. Only an onlooker with a heart of stone could have failed to be moved by Mo Mowlam's first encounter as Northern Secretary, with the plain people of Northern Ireland; hugging children and pensioners, joking about her illness and her wig, listening to people of all ages talking about their hopes and fears.
It's easy to be cynical about this, to say that the hard men in Northern Ireland are unlikely to be influenced by the new Northern Secretary's informal style, her "touchy feely" approach to people and problems.
Except that we know very well that style in politics does matter: it can influence the whole climate for the better. We've seen that demonstrated in the Presidency of Mary Robinson. Her style, the rather unexpected qualities of warmth and sympathy which she has deployed during her time in Aras an Uachtarain, have so transformed the highest office in this State that we now wonder how a successor can ever match her performance.
The same has been true only of Northern Ireland. We all remember occasions when the dignity and grace of an individual have brought hope to a situation of despair: Gordon Wilson after his daughter's death, the parents of Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, and many others.
On the public stage, who would deny that President Clinton's visit to the North provided an outlet for ordinary people to express their yearning for peace in a way that local politicians failed to do?
Indeed, looking back now one can't help wondering how things might have been different if there had been a Northern Secretary capable of appealing on a human level to the people in both communities who are willing to compromise for peace, instead of a vice regal figure like Sir Patrick Mayhew who always seemed to be patronising them from a great height.
NOBODY, least of all this columnist, would want to underplay the immensely difficult problems which face Mo Mowlam in her first months in Northern Ireland. She can depend on the support of the Irish Government but, in the end, it is she who will have to make many crucial decisions: how far she should go to try and bring about another IRA ceasefire, what the best strategy is to avoid another Drumcree and so on.
She has no absolute power to ensure success in these areas: on the contrary, the cards are heavily stacked against her. But the choices she makes and, almost as important, how her performance is perceived by both communities will be vital in shaping hopes for the future.
It is in these early weeks that her persuasive political style, her ability to communicate sympathetically with ordinary people, will be particularly valuable.
We know that Dr Mowlam has already amassed a great deal of first hand knowledge and experience since she became New Labour's spokeswoman on Northern Ireland in 1994. She has demonstrated an impressive capacity for straight talking to politicians on both sides of the divide, but has also shown that she is willing to listen to people outside the main political parties.
Just this week, for example, her office has confirmed that she flew to Northern Ireland on July 10th last year to meet residents of the Garvaghy Road at the height of the Drumcree standoff to try to resolve the situation. This sense of commitment, so evident during her recent illness, has already won her enormous admiration across the divide in Northern Ireland.
Added to that is a more intimate knowledge of the situation on the ground. She knows exactly whom to call in an emergency than any of her predecessors who have had to depend on briefings. This will be a valuable resource in the difficult months which lie ahead.
Towards the end of the British general election, when it was clear that New Labour was going to form the government and that Mo Mowlam would shortly arrive in Belfast, a unionist friend said to me: "In the early weeks at least, the most important qualities she will need are good management skills. That's what has been so markedly lacking under this ancien regime."
HE cited a whole range of problems which could have been dealt with relatively easily when they first appeared but which had been allowed to grow until they assumed potentially inflammatory importances.
The treatment of loyalist prisoners in the Maze, the case of Roisin McAliskey, allegations of discrimination within the Northern Ireland Office, the failure to grapple in any resolute way with the looming problem of parades, these are just some instances where a steady grip on policy would almost certainly have won widespread support.
Mo Mowlam understands very well that there is a great deal that can be done to build political confidence and a sense of security in both communities in Northern Ireland without touching on risky concepts that are sacred to one side or the other.
In a statement of intent issued when she arrived in Belfast, the new Northern Secretary pinpointed areas where she believes initiatives can be taken "which threaten no one's fundamental interests and reflect sound principles which should underpin any fair minded society". These include the protection of individual rights; reform of the RUC; ensuring equality in employment; and new training and employment opportunities, especially for young people.
There are, of course, more intractable, long term problems which will have to be resolved through a process of negotiations if Northern Ireland is ever to enjoy a lasting peace. Ideally, these negotiations will involve Sinn Fein though, as Dr Mowlam has spelt out as unequivocally as her predecessors, that can only happen following "an unequivocal restoration of the IRA ceasefire, demonstrated in words and deeds".
That decision rests with the IRA. But there must (surely?) be a growing realisation within the Sinn Fein leadership that an opportunity is now on offer which will not last indefinitely. There is a very real danger that, if the IRA does not act quickly to call an end to its campaign, the party will lose all that it has gained in building support for its efforts in the rest of Ireland and in the US.
This is the challenge which now faces Gerry Adams and those close to him, and which they must confront even if it means risking a split within the IRA.
Mo Mowlam has made it clear that she wants to create a new confidence in both communities in Northern Ireland, particularly among those who have been marginalised from the political process.
She has demonstrated her formidable skills in communicating that message on the streets of Belfast. Let us hope that the content of what she has to say falls on fertile ground.