When you’ve been through the front door of DUP headquarters as often as Jeffrey Donaldson has over recent weeks it would have been hard not to notice it needed a refurb.
Most of the country spotted the fact the entrance into the party’s inner sanctum was about as grand as the fire escape at a rundown stationary wholesaler. While we waited for white smoke in East Belfast, Twitter was aghast at just how neglected the old timbers looked.
But when Jeffrey closed the dull brown door behind him having lost the leadership contest by just two votes, he probably wasn’t pondering whether to go with heritage oak or teak on the Sadolin Extra Durable Woodstain.
Little did the Lagan Valley know, however, that Edwin Poots' leadership would be over in the time it takes a coat of clear weather proofer to dry.
On Tuesday, after it became clear no one was challenging his ascent to the throne, Sir Jeffrey clearly allowed his mind to drift to the idea that if this door is a metaphor for the party he’s about to lead, he should probably give it a makeover.
When challenged on Twitter that the three priorities he faces are varnishing the door, the Protocol and an Irish Language Act, he responded: “Door definitely on list. I am told it’s in hand. Hope to open many other doors in times ahead for benefit of all in Northern Ireland.”
His shift from Westminster to the Assembly and the by-election that ensues is another hurdle not so easily remedied.
While he can put a new coat of Ronseal on the faded portal to his new found power, the challenges facing Sir Jeffrey are not so easily glossed over.
