Robin Swann's biggest strategic achievement throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has been to keep out of the party political squabbles that crop up on a daily basis.
Staying away from what may be regarded as petty point-scoring between rival parties has earned the Health Minister much favour with the public.
According to the polls, he is by far Northern Ireland's most popular politician.
This is all the more remarkable considering that Mr Swann is his party's only minister in the Executive - and he is tasked with the poisoned chalice portfolio of health.
Remaining above the usual party politicking has helped him gain the sympathetic image of someone just getting on with the job in spite of the disputes and distractions from others.
But this week saw a notable shift from the Health Minister as he became uncomfortably embroiled in the vexed debate over domestic vaccine passports.
Mr Swann faced questions over why at an Executive meeting on Monday he voted against an SDLP proposal to introduce mandatory certification for entry to some indoor venues. He had instead joined with the DUP and Sinn Féin to make such measures advisory only rather than legally enforceable.
Many were also left wondering why it appeared Stormont had done nothing over the summer months to progress any sort of domestic vaccine passport system for potential future use.
In a statement issued via the Ulster Unionists, the Health Minister said he did not back the mandatory passports proposal because such a scheme was "neither ready nor agreed".
He blamed the first and deputy first ministers' department for delays, saying he had asked in April for discussions to be progressed by the Executive Office through the creation of a "cross-departmental working group".
Mr Swann surprisingly went further, taking a swipe at the SDLP.
"It is important to note that the parties that have been most vocal in recent days advocating for the introduction of domestic use certification had until then also shown no actual interest in helping me to pursue a policy decision," he said.
This prompted an angry reaction in the Assembly, with SDLP MLA Pat Catney urging the minister to reconsider his remarks as they "question the sincerity of my party on this issue".
It has since transpired there has been a stand-off for several months between the Health Minister and the Executive Office over who should to take responsibility for bringing forward proposals.
Mr Swann argued the Executive Office's rebuff is simply "a tactic to frustrate consideration and debate of the issue, as opposed to a considered position".
However, the Health Minister's efforts behind the scenes do not inspire confidence either.
Rather than decisive action, creating a working group is typically a way at Stormont of kicking a thorny issue into the long grass.
Instead of criticism the SDLP deserves some credit for pushing vaccine passports to the forefront of the political agenda, albeit belatedly.
It has been clear for some time vaccine certificates have helped boost uptake of the jabs in the Irish Republic, whereas in Northern Ireland the vaccine roll-out has been stagnating.
Who knows whether Mr Swann would ever have pressed more firmly on vaccine passports had the issue not become the subject of greater public debate.
Throughout the pandemic Stormont has tended to follow the choices of other jurisdictions rather than lead the way.
While a five-party coalition makes consensus difficult, batting tough decisions back and forth between departments shows a concerning lack of leadership when there should be no time to waste.
