Russell Findlay may be smiling now as he's named the new leader of the Scottish Tories, but will that may not continue when he sees the scale of the challenge in his in tray.
The former crime journalist turned politician was chosen by party members to replace Douglas Ross as leader.
He won by 62%, a significant victory over Murdo Fraser and Meghan Gallacher.
His victory came as a surprise to very few people, especially Mr Fraser, who admitted earlier this week he did not have high expectations of winning when he entered the contest more than five weeks ago.
When you get the backing of a former party leader like Ruth Davidson, who shaped the party into a formidable opposition in Holyrood, members are likely to sit up and listen.
But the Scottish Tories, and the UK party south of the border, have been rocked by a pretty disastrous general election result.
In Scotland, the Conservatives lost almost half of their vote share at the July general election. The party gained just 12.7% backing here, despite returning five MPs.
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If polls are to be believed - and there have been several - Russell Findlay faces an uphill battle in his party's journey to the 2026 Holyrood election.
Creating a vision that voters trust will be the most challenging battle he faces in the new role - but he knows it.
It is estimated the Scottish Tories could lose around half of their record 31 MSPs in Holyrood in 2026, which would be a devastating result for Mr Findlay.
The danger comes from pretty much every party in Scotland. The SNP will be keen to take advantage of the public's poor perception of the former UK Conservative government and the turmoil from Douglas Ross' leadership in Scotland.
Labour succeeded in the UK election at sweeping up many Tory seats, as did the Liberal Democrats, they will undoubtably look to do the same in 2026.
But perhaps the biggest threat facing the Scottish Tories - and Russell Findlay - is Nigel Farage's Reform Party.
It is estimated Reform could take around 10% of the list vote in Holyrood, with many disillusioned Conservative voters potentially shifting focus to the party further on the right to the Tories.
It is this threat that Scottish Tory MSPs fear the most.
Meghan Gallacher, who placed third in the leadership contest, said Mr Findlay must show his party is united to stave off the Reform threat.
And Murdo Fraser, the runner up, earlier this week warned his party to steer clear of the anti-devolution rhetoric being discussed by Reform. While there are many Tory voters who may be sceptical about the need of Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Tories need it as an identity away, especially as the independence argument lingers 10 years on.
Certainly, if lessons are to be learned from his predecessors time in the top job, he will bond a stronger relationship with his MSPs - not just his advisers behind the scenes.
In his advice to his successor, Mr Ross was told ITV Borders: "Trust your advisors. You could go along the corridor and listen to every MSP in our group and have 31 different opinions."
Bearing in mind Mr Ross' 30 colleagues were already unhappy with his conduct during his time as leader, this only divided the party further.
Mr Findlay's mission will be to bring them together after a rocky contest.
He has a tough start. On Saturday, he will deliver a speech to the King before heading to address delegates at the Conservative conference on Sunday.
A crucial moment will come on Tuesday as he addresses his Tory MSPs at their first group meeting. He will no doubt make a plea for them to drop any hard feelings that developed throughout the leadership contest.
He also must quickly figure out the new dynamic with the UK party.
It's new leader will not be chosen until November, but with the party now in opposition south of the border, there may be fewer policy disagreements between the leaders north and south.
And Mr Findlay is no stranger to taking on the SNP-run Scottish Government. His previous frontbench position as justice spokesman saw him repeatedly take shots at his opponents.
But his first shot at taking on John Swinney comes at First Minister's Questions on Friday. After a tame few weeks from Mr Ross, it is a crucial opportunity for the new leader to show his refreshed approach.
The next few weeks, and months, certainly promise to be interesting.
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