With the appointment of Poincaré as premier on 15 January 1922, for the first time in the history of the Republic, though not the last, a former president of the Republic returned to government. No doubt Poincaré's tidy mind took cognisance of the fact that it was ten years almost to the day since he had formed his first ministry. Now, as then, his new cabinet reflected a desire not to break with the Radicals and included four among its number. Poincaré's new government was no different from the others of the Bloc national, which, contrary to received opinion, were centrist governments. Overall the general tone of the government was set by its reliance principally on members of the centre-left Alliance démocratique, such as Barthou and André Maginot. But there was more continuity than change in the new government. Most of Briand's ministers were retained, though occasionally with different portfolios. It would soon be clear that there was almost as much continuity in policy as personnel. A particular characteristic of the new team was the inclusion of political and legal friends direct from the Poincaré stable, like Charles Reibel and Maurice Colrat. This was not inspired by nepotism. Poincaré's experience of government had brought him to the conclusion that too wide a gap often existed between executive decisions and their execution, largely as a result of the independence of senior permanent officials.