The past 12 months may seem to some to have been somewhat of an "annus horribilis" for Prime Minister John Key - despite the little matter of a whopping general election victory - but the National Party leader says he's determined to win again in 2017.
Apparently the Dirty Politics saga, the Northland by-election loss and the ponytail-pulling debacle haven't driven Mr Key to reconsider his future in the same way the trials of 2012 did.
At the weekend he told party faithful at a regional conference: "I am just as committed today to leading National to victory at the next election as I was when first taking up the role as your leader in November 2006."
Should Mr Key see out a three-year fourth term he will be the longest-serving Prime Minister since William Massey died in office in 1925.
Of course it's early days in the election cycle - but speculation about Mr Key's successor has been around for a while.