Boris Johnson’s reign as Prime Minister could be a short one as he faces an immediate barrage of potentially bloodying blows.
His Commons majority of two could soon be cut to just one if a by-election does not go his way, as predicted.
Experts say the Vote Leave mastermind will also very quickly be forced to admit he has made promises on Brexit that he simply cannot deliver.
And he will face attacks from within his own party over continued threats of forcing through a reckless no-deal.
But in the ultimate indignity, there is even a risk of him being unseated as an MP if forced to call a general election.
The by-election challenge comes on August 1, at the rural constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire in mid-Wales.
The Tories are being propped up by the Democratic Unionist Party and currently have a technical working majority of two MPs.
But Brecon and Radnorshire is now up for grabs after Tory Chris Davies was ousted under a recall petition following his criminal conviction for fiddling parliamentary expenses.
Inexplicably, he was reselected to fight the seat, where the Tories have a majority of 8,038.
Remainer parties rallied behind the candidate with the best chance, Jane Dodds of the Lib Dems, to avoid splitting the vote.
She is therefore tipped to triumph in the constituency, which her party held until 2015.
On Brexit, Mr Johnson has said he would prefer to leave the bloc with a deal but if not possible we leave on October 31 “do or die”.
He has yet to spell out how his deal will differ from Theresa May ’s.
And he has already boxed himself in by the saying he would axe the Irish backstop. But the EU has said the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be reopened.
Anand Menon, director of think-tank UK in a Changing Europe, said: “Even if Johnson got changes to the deal and miraculously got a majority in Parliament, there is not enough time for us to leave by October 31 because they cannot get the Withdrawal Agreement Bill through in time.
So it is virtually impossible for us to leave with a deal before October 31.”
Brexit has divided Parliament as well as the Tories and it will be a hostile environment.
Chancellor Philip Hammond, a staunch remainer, quit on live TV over the weekend – before Boris could sack him.
Justice Secretary David Gauke announced his resignation, saying leaving the EU without a deal would lead to national “humiliation”.
And International Development Secretary Rory Stewart also vowed to quit the Cabinet in a growing Tory resistance.
If he fails to deliver on Brexit, Mr Johnson faces a choice of a general election or a second referendum.
In an election, he could face a personal disaster as he only has a 5,034 majority in Uxbridge and South Ruislip – the smallest constituency majority for a new PM since Ramsay MacDonald in 1924, who had 3,512 in Aberavon.
And Jeremy Corbyn-supporting Momentum has been waging a huge campaign to oust him from the seat.
Other tricky promises to deliver include policing, after he vowed 20,000 more officers, raising the higher tax threshold from £50,000 to £80,000 and every home having full fibre broadband by 2025, down from a target of 2033.
