Apr 4    

　　Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva is not a man in a hurry. Five months after he won a second term in a presidential election, he has finally put the finishing touches to a new cabinet. This massive 36-member contraption should guarantee him relatively tranquil relations with Congress and a safe passage through the rest of his four-year term.

　　The second edition of Lula's government is likely to produce fewer rows between economic reformers and left-wing dissenters. Lula's left-leaning Workers' Party (PT), which is even more sceptical, has lost influence. It will remain the biggest force in the cabinet with 16 seats, including the key economic-policy jobs.

　　In his first term Lula's reluctance to share power with other parties led to a congressional vote-buying scandal that nearly destroyed his presidency. This time he has given five plump ministries—controlling 44% of the federal investment budget—to the centrist Party of the Brazilian Democracy Movement (PMDB), the largest in Congress. Luciano Dias of the Brazilian Institute of Political Studies sees in this the start of a durable centre-left alliance that could realign the country's politics.