The new Westminster parliamentary session could hardly have got off to a less auspicious start for Theresa May and her weakened government.
A greatly diluted Queen's Speech yesterday confirmed what had been speculated for days - that key elements of the Conservative manifesto had been scrapped, in some cases because of pressure from the DUP but also because her party realised that it was these toxic plans that lost them their parliamentary majority on June 8.
The speech offered a watered down consultation on social care reform rather than the reviled dementia tax while manifesto plans to end the state pension triple lock and introduce means testing of the winter fuel allowance were ditched.
Quite why Mrs May thought these policies would be supported by the party's core voters - elderly home owners - is hard to fathom and showed breathtaking arrogance on the part of her administration which thought it could take pensioners for granted.
Other unpopular schemes such as expanding grammar schools and offering a free vote on fox hunting, were also abandoned.
Not only has Theresa May offered a two-year parliamentary session that has jettisoned many of the policies on which she went to the country, but even as Queen Elizabeth was speaking, Mrs May had not actually managed to secure the support of the DUP.
As with so much of what this government is involved in, the negotiations with Arlene Foster's party do not seem to have gone according to plan.
Reports suggest the DUP are holding out for a huge injection of cash for the health service in Northern Ireland and for infrastructure projects, but they also want to demonstrate they will not be taken for granted.
Of course, there is always a degree of manoeuvring and gamesmanship in high stakes discussions but the clock is also ticking.
The vote on the Queen's Speech takes place on June 29 - the same day as the deadline for agreement in the Stormont talks.
The stakes are undoubtedly high - and not just for Theresa May.
