When a former deputy prime minister and the country's largest bookmakers endorse your return to public life, you know you are on to a good thing.
And when all a Cabinet Office minister can come up with is a James Bond-style joke at your expense, you can afford to smile and reflect that at least you're not in Lord Archer's shoes.
Mr Michael Portillo - newly installed as the Conservative MP for Kensington and Chelsea with a relatively modest majority of 6,706 - was gratefully welcomed back into the Tory fold yesterday and walked straight back into the debate about how long he will wait before wrenching the leadership from Mr William Hague.
Predicting a swift return to the front bench for Mr Portillo, the Tory grandee, Mr Michael Heseltine, said until the matter was resolved "what's the point of mucking about? Everyone knows his qualities and we're not exactly over-burdened with them. I believe that in this Parliament Michael Portillo's loyalty is absolutely bedded in concrete."
But there was as much importance in what Mr Hague did not say about his new MP as in what he did say. "We've got a new and talented Member of Parliament and I think he will be a great ally for me and a great asset for the party" he said, by way of heading off speculation that Mr Portillo was in line for a meteoric rise through the ranks.
Then Mr Hague carefully clipped Mr Portillo's wings, adding: "There won't be any immediate changes to the Shadow Cabinet."
Publicly, Mr Hague cannot acknowledge the threat posed to his leadership by Mr Portillo until he makes a definite strike. That is unlikely to happen before the next election because Mr Portillo knows that if the Tories are to lose to Labour again, Mr Hague might as well take the blame. And so for the moment the new MP was content to praise his party leader while admitting that the Tories had much work to do if they were to pose any kind of threat to New Labour.
"I am very pleased to be back in the House of Commons, looking forward to doing the work, representing the people of Kensington and Chelsea and bringing the Conservative team back up to strength. If I am on the back benches I will be perfectly content, but I am also content to do whatever William Hague thinks is right for me," Mr Portillo declared after waiting until 2.10 a.m. yesterday morning to hear the result of the by-election. Mr Portillo held the safe Tory seat despite a low turn-out of just 29.8 per cent, which represented a moderate swing of 4.35 per cent from Labour to the Conservatives.
Pounding the streets of Kensington and Chelsea during a victory "walkabout", Mr Portillo was in no mood for replying to Labour jibes that just as "the world was not enough" for the 007 character, James Bond, Kensington and Chelsea would not be enough for the former defence secretary.
Mr Portillo was much more interested in beating Mr Hague to the task of endorsing Mr Steven Norris - runner-up to Lord Archer as mayoral candidate - as the Tory candidate for mayor of London. "I'm a bit of a Steve Norris fan," he told his constituents, "and I very much hope he continues his candidacy."
But the best line from yesterday's predictable Conservative victory came from Labour's campaign manager for the by-election, Mr Jim Fitzpatrick, who got the last laugh when he said: "In this, the season of pantomime, my advice to William is, `look, he's behind you'. "