It was a scenario the Taoiseach could only have dreamt about, even in these optimistic days.
There he was, sitting next to a smiling Mr Blair, facing a unified assembly in which every member supported the initiative at hand. But this was Waterford, not Belfast, where things are progressing, but not quite that quickly.
Still, Northern Ireland was not far from anyone's mind when Mr Ahern was welcomed to Waterford for only the second full Cabinet meeting to be held outside Dublin, following a similar exercise in Ballaghaderreen in January.
Opening the new headquarters of the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly, Mr Ahern congratulated its director, Mr Stephen Blair, on the recent birth of his son. "It seems I can't get away from Blairs these days and it seems they all want to extend the population," he joked.
In stark contrast to the hot reception in Ballaghaderreen, where beef farmers and other groups greeted Ministers with angry protests, the Waterford visit was a low-key affair. Most Ministers headed straight for the Faithlegg House Hotel, the elegant 18th-century former estate house about six miles outside the city where yesterday's "think tank" was located.
Only Mr Ahern and three senior colleagues - the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, Mr Charlie McCreevy and Mr Noel Dempsey - paid a prior visit to downtown Waterford for the assembly headquarters event.
A small crowd, mostly of women, waited in the sunshine outside the O'Connell Street building and applauded when the Taoiseach and his team arrived at 10.30 a.m., half-an-hour behind schedule.
Mr Ahern said the Government, by meeting in Waterford, was sending a signal that it was serious about regional development. "Just as important, it gives us a chance to meet the local community and their representatives."
Not as many members of the local community, however, as had been hoped. Several groups who attempted to arrange meetings with Government members through the local Fianna Fail TD, Mr Brendan Kenneally, were told the Ministers concerned did not have sufficient time.
Mr Kenneally said some meetings were not possible as the Cabinet was in session for the entire day, before reconvening today at 9 a.m. However the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, did visit the local Land Registry office to assure staff that the operation was not being downgraded.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, met student nurses at Waterford Institute of Technology who want equality with non-fee-paying students, while the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, held discussions with the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland about development plans for its centre at Mount Melleray.
Those who did have limited opportunities to make a point did not waste them. Welcoming Mr Ahern to Waterford the city's mayor, Mr Pat Hayes, joked that he was particularly glad to see him. Given the quality of the road from Waterford Regional Airport, he had been afraid the Taoiseach might not make it.
