AFTER only four days in his new post, it is perhaps too early to pass judgement on Michael Howard's tenure as party leader.

But it is fair to suggest that, in announcing his shadow ministerial team, he had the opportunity to begin making his own distinctive mark as a Prime Minister in waiting.

His first appointments as Leader of the Opposition provide little suggestion of a new broom coming along to sweep away the Tories' past.

If the role of the Opposition is to convince the British public that it is a credible alternative to the present government, then it seems strange that he should chose a Shadow Cabinet of just a dozen.

Mr Howard suggests that he can manage with a small team around him because the needs in Opposition are different to the needs in government.

He will, however, find it difficult to counter suggestions that his choice was limited because of the paucity of talent within his ranks.

His decision to merge responsibilities may come back to haunt him. Having the same Shadow Cabinet spokesman for education and health appears the diminish the importance of two vital public services which are bound to figure prominently in the forthcoming General Election campaign.

Quite how Mr Howard can justify slimming down his Shadow Cabinet yet still find room for two co-chairmen of the Conservative Party will be a test of his political skills.

So, too, will his decision to appoint former party leaders John Major, William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith to an advisory team to help him in the run-up to the General Election.

Two men who led the Tories to landslide election defeats, and another who could not even muster the support of his own MPs long enough to lead them into an election, have suspect credentials as electoral assets.

Mr Howard's choice of front bench colleagues smacks more of a desire to hold the Conservative Party together ahead of an election, rather than a concerted effort to win that election.