It is unsurprising that the SDLP has moved to form an official opposition at Stormont.
The party dropped from third to fifth-largest in May's election after losing four MLAs, including deputy leader Nichola Mallon.
Now with eight seats in the Assembly, the SDLP is no longer automatically entitled to a ministerial post when a new power-sharing Executive is eventually formed.
Read more: SDLP political director steps down after Stormont Assembly election losses
It was only ever a question of whether the party would have to wait until Stormont is fully restored.
However, Assembly officials have confirmed the SDLP can choose to take up the role at any time because ministers have remained in post in a caretaker capacity since the election.
An opposition was previously attempted in May 2016 when the UUP and SDLP decided not to nominate ministers.
It led to the infamous "Vote Mike, get Colum" remark from then Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt as he talked up the prospect of the parties working together.
But the opposition had little time to establish itself as the Executive collapsed within a year amid the RHI scandal, and the DUP and Sinn Fein were again returned in a snap election as the two largest parties.
In Northern Ireland we are used to a system of mandatory power-sharing between unionist and nationalist parties with very few of the 90 MLAs sitting outside of government.
Supporters of this model argue it protects minority voices and promotes compromise and consensus, but critics say it means decision-making is slow and undergoes little scrutiny.
In formally establishing as the opposition, the SDLP will gain extra speaking rights in the Assembly chamber when it resumes - helping to hold the government to greater account.
The party will be the first in line to question ministers, is entitled to hold the chair of the key scrutiny body the Public Accounts Committee and can set the Assembly agenda for 10 days per year.
It brings Stormont marginally closer to the systems in place at Westminster and the Oireachtas, where the UK and Irish governments routinely face scrutiny from parties on the opposition benches.
There is also some extra financial support for parties that formally establish an opposition. The SDLP can expect to receive around £22,000 extra a year compared to if the party had not formally designated as the opposition.
But the funding pales in comparison to the resources provided to parties in the Executive.
A single special adviser to a minister can receive a salary of up to £84,000. If the SDLP had chosen to re-nominate to the Infrastructure Minister role when Ms Mallon lost her Assembly seat, the party would be financially better off.
An independent report last year concluded the resources given to the official opposition are "inadequate" and made recommendations to "enhance the level of funding available to the official opposition to assist it in discharging its role more effectively".
It is difficult therefore to conclude this decision is all about money.
Instead, after a bruising election, this is about the SDLP attempting to establish itself in the minds of voters as an alternative government in the hope of winning back support.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, who nominated MLA Matthew O'Toole as leader of the opposition, said his party wants to provide a "constructive alternative to the politics of division, deadlock and failure that has gripped this place for far too long".
The full outworkings of this move will not become clear until the DUP ends its block on restoring Stormont in protest over Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.
Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey said the role of the leader of the opposition will be "extremely limited" until a new Assembly is established.
In a letter to MLAs, he also said that if another qualifying party larger than the SDLP wishes to form part of the opposition, the larger party would be entitled to nominate the leader of the opposition.
But over time this move has the potential to significantly change the power dynamic at Stormont.
Other parties, particularly Alliance and the UUP who could still opt to join a formal opposition, will be watching closely to see how the SDLP fares in its new role.
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