But with his image as a safe pair of hands in tatters, that may now change.
Mr Portillo cannot offer a safe pair of hands but he can claim to be interesting.
"We could have just gone for a safe pair of hands, " Law admitted to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
Mr Isdell, a 60-year-old Irishman, was welcomed by investors and analysts as a safe pair of hands.
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Mr Zapatero is pushing this former European commissioner as the safe pair of hands that Spain needs.
Companies often choose those banks that have done the business before and are therefore a safe pair of hands.
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After so long on the roller coaster people want a safe pair of hands, and Bersani is banking on that.
And judging by Labour's recent stumblings, Scottish voters might even think that Mr Salmond offers a safer pair of hands.
Both Mr Berlusconi on the right and Mr D'Alema on the left reckoned he would be a safe pair of hands.
Another blue-collar mid-westerner from a swing state, Tom Vilsack , the governor of Iowa, also looks a safe pair of hands.
Ms Brainard is not known for having grand policy initiatives or big ideas, but she would be a safe pair of hands.
Ulster's well-organised defence frustrated Orrell and in a breakaway when the ball flashed through eight pair of hands before replacement wing Young touched down.
He gained a reputation as a "safe pair of hands" and was subsequently parachuted into two troubled ministries, health and transport, to help with unpopular reforms.
Some previous secretaries of state - say Labour's Paul Murphy - saw their role as staying in the background and providing a discreet safe pair of hands.
He is slightly scary, slightly standoff-ish, a totally safe pair of hands, someone whom you instantly respect before he has done anything and are instantly wary of crossing.
Ms Cropp, who has been in city politics for 26 years, presents herself as an experienced pair of hands who will carry on roughly where Mr Williams leaves off.
Mr Silva is less orthodox than Mr Kuczynski, but is still seen by investors as a safe pair of hands: he is unlikely to allow spending to run amok.
Written and directed by Michael Patrick King, a safe pair of hands from the HBO days, "Sex and the City, " the movie, is aimed fair and square at the fans.
Mr Darling is too familiar a figure now to extract much benefit from this kind of event, but he showed once again that he is a safe pair of hands.
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Vatican watcher Austen Ivereigh said that if Wednesday brought white smoke, the new Pope would likely be Cardinal Angelo Scola, a 71-year-old Italian theologian widely regarded as a safe pair of hands.
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In addition to his 2000 league title, Songo'o was awarded the Zamora title after the 1996-97 season - a trophy that traditionally goes to the safest pair of hands in the Spanish championship.
But as several religion-watchers have noted, the church would risk sending an odd signal to the country and the world if it rejected him in favour of a safe, white pair of hands.
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His appeal sprang from who he was: a fresh young senator offering a new direction after the clapped-out administration of George Bush and a safer pair of hands than the 72-year-old John McCain.
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If he became Conservative leader, he could offer a safe pair of hands for voters to turn to if they tire of Tony Blair's tricksy ways and Labour's unfulfilled promises on public services.
He was regarded by the leadership as a safe pair of hands, trusted with some of the most sensitive briefs in government and known as one of the most committed modernisers in the government.
And there's another good pair of hands, there, too: While Britt was out last season with a knee injury, Nate Washington was No. 11 in the NFL with 10 receptions of more than 20 yards.
He said Monsignor Martin would be "seen as a clean pair of hands and a clean conscience going into Armagh at a time when the church seriously needs people who do not bring with them dark baggage from the past".
The choice of Mr Cheney shows confidence on Mr Bush's part - he is not picking someone who will help him massively in the election but instead opting for someone who is competent and a safe pair of hands and would help him in government.
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