The second eleven were out in force at this week's Birmingham cabinet.
No show from city council leader Mike Whitby, who was perhaps enjoying another one of those cosy setting-the-record-straight chats with senior Tories in London.
No show either from opposition Labour leader Sir Albert Bore, who had better things to attend to in Europe.
If it's not Brussels for Albert, it's the Birmingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, where he is the chairman. There is talk once more of organising a successor as Labour group leader.
On this occasion, however, it would appear matters are being taken seriously.
A senior party figure, who has in the past allied himself closely to Sir Albert, has been taking "soundings" about who might be best placed to assume the leadership. This person, who I shall refer to as Mr X, made the mistake of consulting me. Then again, perhaps it was a deliberate attempt to get the matter out into the open.
There have been many attempts since 1999 to oust Albert, but what makes this very different is the fact that Mr X has in the past been instrumental in making sure Bore keeps his job and on this occasion would appear to be talking with the support of leading Boreites.
We agreed fairly quickly that the shortlist of suitable candidates will be a very short list indeed. Ian Ward, the deputy leader, known in some circles as Son of Albert, would be a safe pair of hands, but deputies rarely get the top job.
Kingstanding councillor Cath Grundy certainly has the intelligence, and can put it about verbally in the council chamber, but surely the chauvinistic Birmingham Labour group is not ready to vote for Coun Grundy.
Carl Rice, a Ladywood councillor and apologist-in-chief for Sir Albert, is a good speaker when he can be bothered to make the effort, but any ambition he once had disappeared a long time ago.
That brings us to Longbridge councillor Steve Bedser, who led for Labour in Albert's absence at Monday's cabinet. A confident performer and clever, but some might say too clever by half. Bedser succeeds brilliantly in getting under the skin of cabinet members, deputy council leader Paul Tilsley in particular. Well, OK, annoying Tilsley is hardly a challenge. But even so, Bedser is a consummate politician who would make an effective Labour leader.
He needs to stop being a two-issue politician – gay rights and global warming – and develop an all-encompassing approach. He will also have to work hard at cultivating political allies and drop a tendency towards sarcasm.
But Bedser could do it. Labour will have to hope someone with the ability and passion required to be leader comes through because these are difficult times for the official opposition and largest group on the council.
Even Coun Bedser was glumly silent when a cabinet report was tabled noting that the Tory-Lib Dem led council has managed to meet or improve on 80 per cent of Government performance indicators. The improvement since 2004, when Labour last ran the council, is across the board.
No wonder Albert prefers the rarefied air of Brussels to the rancid atmosphere in Birmingham.
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More problems for Birmingham Liberal Democrats, this time over Moseley Road Baths.
Getting the Edwardian swimming pools fully restored and re-open was a key element of the council power-sharing agreement between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. But only a fool would now suppose there is the slightest chance of this happening.
Judging by the comments this week from leisure cabinet member Ray Hassall, a Lib Dem councillor, there is little enthusiasm for spending a lot of money restoring one of the few Edwardian baths left in Britain. Hassall would rather have fun-pools with saunas and jacuzzis, apparently.
As time passes by it is becoming more and more obvious why Hassall will not publicly release a consultants' report into the possibility of restoring the baths. It's not because the report says the project is too expensive to contemplate. Quite the reverse. It points out how the council could restore Moseley Baths – but that is not to the liking of Coun Hassall and his dreary leisure officials.