Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam began introducing her successor Peter Mandelson to party leaders in Belfast today. The province will be far from sure what to expect: two more different political operators would be hard to find.

Mo is warm, tactile, and open; Mandy cool, reserved, a figure wreathed in shadows. Tony Blair knows that the appointment of his great friend to the toughest job in British politics is a high-risk gamble. It is a courageous one at that.

The Prime Minister had to try something to break the deadlock in the peace process. He believes a radical change at the top might just be enough to jolt the stalled Good Friday Agreement back into life. We must all hope he is right.

Mr Mandelson has been gracious enough to acknowledge that he has a tough act to follow. Dr Mowlam has made remarkable progress since taking office in 1997.

She brought a breath of fresh air to the stifling atmosphere at Stormont. The energy she invested in finding a solution was astonishing, particularly as she has only recently battled back from a life-threatening illness.

By cajoling, browbeating, pushing and persuading, she brought Northern Ireland's antagonists to the table for face-to-face talks. Without Dr Mowlam there could have been no Good Friday Agreement.

She is clearly disappointed to be leaving with the job unfinished. But many before her have been defeated by the intransigence of the Northern Irish parties; she was not. That is a real achievement.

Nevertheless, a new face was needed to bring fresh momentum to the talks, and Mr Mandelson has been given the job. His famed electioneering skills transformed Labour from an unelectable rabble into a party that stormed the polls.

But that was a walk in the park compared to the political minefield he now faces. He will need every drop of his guile and negotiating nous to create a way forward acceptable to both Gerry Adams and David Trimble.

Many in Britain are concerned that Mr Mandelson is back in the Cabinet only ten months after he resigned in disgrace. The speed of his political rehabilitation is considered unseemly. But Mr Blair needed a heavyweight to take over at Northern Ireland, and Mr Mandelson is one of his most able lieutenants. His transformation of Labour and his brief spell as Trade Secretary have earned him enough respect to be taken seriously in Belfast.

Should he pull off the apparently impossible and build a lasting peace in Northern Ireland, his embarrassment over a dodgy home loan will be quickly forgotten.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.