Premier Alex Scott has a long road ahead of him as he strives to pull his government and country back together after the political trauma of the last week.

But his first steps yesterday took him in the right direction. Indeed, Mr. Scott promised his tenure would be include not just the members of the PLP, but the Opposition and the whole country.

In a nice turn of phrase, he admitted that "I am provided with an awesome responsibility", before adding: That's probably the last time you will hear me say 'I' because 'we' are going to go forward together."

That statement, by which he included the whole country "working in the interest of everyone", was not just politically smart, it will have been a relief to the vast majority of the population who are interested, first and foremost, in Bermuda moving forward regardless of party affiliation.

Indeed, Mr. Scott went further, saying: "The new Bermuda has not run its course. We are just going to go further down that path. And down that path I hope we can take all of us here in Bermuda. We as a government, I as a leader of that government, will be working in the interest of everyone."

Of course, many a politician has made that same promise on taking office, only to drop it when criticised or when it seems advantageous to the politician or party.

That temptation will exist, and Mr. Scott will be wise not to fall into that trap because his own position remains precarious. While it is true that the PLP was elected last Thursday, Mr. Scott was not it leader then and he must also move to end the disenchantment the public feels not only with his party but with the political process in general.

Whether Mr. Scott will accomplish that remains to be seen, but he seems to recognise that the Island is yearning for someone to bring all sides together to solve the problems facing the community.

Mr. Scott also did well to target the elderly and housing as issues where he hoped to work with the United Bermuda Party, showing that he at least recognised these as areas of pressing concern, even if his party's platform did not.

And he cleverly took a leaf out of the UBP's book when he said that this was a new Alex Scott and a new government.

If the UBP can become the new UBP, and implicitly ask people to forget the "old" UBP and look instead to the future, then so can Alex Scott and the "new" government.

The next step comes today when Mr. Scott names his new Cabinet.

He has said it will not be as large as the last Cabinet, or as small as the short-lived group that Jennifer Smith named on Friday. But he needs to take care to balance those who remained loyal to Ms Smith along with enough rebels to keep all sides happy.

Above all of that, however, he should let his judgment of the talent that surrounds him be his main guide.

Ms Smith was criticised, with some justice, for letting talent languish on the back benches and Mr. Scott should draw on the very best members that he has on hand, both from the House and the Senate as he chooses his team.

Then, as a team, they should move forward to bring Bermuda the very best government they can.