Elizabeth Lee's call on former leaders sets Canberra Liberals up for success

Each option comes with possible risks and possible rewards.

The new leader Lee could have elected to freeze out Alistair Coe and Jeremy Hanson, assigning them minor roles in the hope they'd bore themselves into political irrelevance and obscurity.

Such a move would have ensured Lee was the centre of attention, a reasonable and rational objective for any new leader.

But it would have also risked alienating Coe and Hanson, giving them cause to grow resentful, or worse.

Disenfranchised former leaders with time to burn and little to lose is a well-proven recipe for political disaster.

The Canberra Liberals need not be reminded of the Malcolm Turnbull-Tony Abbott experience, though it would be unfair to draw any comparisons between Coe, Hanson and the former member for Warringah.

Lee's other option, of course, was to keep the former leaders close, entrusting them with portfolios of prominence and importance to the Liberals' effort to hold the Barr-Rattenbury government to account in the next four year, and hopefully defeat them in 2024.

That option requires Lee to share the stage, potentially robbing her of the some of the limelight needed to raise her profile.

But it would mean the Liberals would have their best and most capable minds where they're most needed.

The unveiling of the Liberals' shadow ministry on Thursday morning confirms Lee has chosen the second option.

It was the right choice to make, one which displayed maturity and political nous in equal measure.

Lee has allowed Coe to retain arguably the opposition's most significant shadow portfolio, treasury, while handing him planning, land management and building quality.

Hanson has been moved from shadow Attorney-General - a role Lee, a former lawyer, will take on - to education, matching him up against Labor Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry.

With Mark Parton appointed transport spokesman, the Liberals have their strong performers in the areas which spin the news cycle, dominate political debate and, most importantly, frame election campaigns.

Giulia Jones does face a big challenge to fill the very large and capable shoes of Vicki Dunne in the crucial health portfolio. But Jones did shadow Dunne in her final year in the role, and should, and will, take heart from her performance in pursuing police and emergency services minister Mick Gentleman for the past four years.

The notion of picking the best person for a position might seem straightforward, but politics is no meritocracy.

Loyalties, factional or personal, often trump other qualities in political appointments.

Lee has prioritised merit.

While Labor is fresh from its sixth-consecutive election win, it enters the 10^th Assembly in diminished form, arguably more vulnerable than it has been for years.

The expanded presence and power of Shane Rattenbury's Greens in cabinet and on the floor of the Legislative Assembly will force Barr's Labor to concede or back down more often than it has in the past, leaving it exposed to attacks.

Lee's decision to hand Coe and Hanson high-profile positions gives the Liberals the best chance to capitalise.