When Liz Truss became Prime Minister, she had under eight weeks to restore Stormont before the legal deadline to call an early Assembly election. Rishi Sunak has three days.
With so little time, his first big decision on Northern Ireland as Prime Minister will be whether his Secretary of State should follow through with calling that snap poll.
Chris Heaton-Harris has been bullishly insisting he will do so if power-sharing is not re-established by the legislative deadline of midnight on Friday.
Read more: December Northern Ireland Assembly election to cost £6.5m
But having backed Boris Johnson to return as Prime Minister, Mr Heaton-Harris might not even be Northern Ireland secretary by then.
If sacked in the coming days in a Cabinet reshuffle, he would become the shortest-serving Secretary of State - making way for the fourth occupier of the role in under four months.
There is some speculation that former Secretary of State Julian Smith, who was praised for helping to broker the deal that ended Stormont's three-year hiatus in 2020, could be returning to Northern Ireland.
Mr Heaton-Harris said he would call an election "immediately" after the deadline passes to restore devolved government, but don't be surprised if that timeframe begins to shift.
The legal requirement is for a poll to be called within 12 weeks, meaning the new PM has some time to consider his options.
Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker has said an early Assembly election, which would likely take place on December 15 at a cost of £6.5million, would "waste time and money".
Would forcing Northern Ireland to have an election few support, while refusing to hold a Westminster election that opposition parties are calling for, make the Conservatives look hypocritical?
There is still the possibility that emergency legislation could avert a snap poll.
When Ms Truss beat Mr Sunak in the summer Conservative leadership contest, her Westminster bill to override Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol played well with Tory Eurosceptics and the DUP.
But in her short time at Downing Street her approach to the Irish Sea trade impasse appeared no different to Mr Sunak's plans.
Expect negotiations with the European Union to continue in the hope of reaching an agreed resolution before the bill has any chance of emerging from its House of Lords quagmire.
Although he is a Brexiteer and has previously vowed to "fix" the protocol, the DUP will still be nervous that Mr Sunak is viewed as less inclined to escalate tensions with Brussels.
Northern Ireland however will be nowhere near the former Chancellor's primary focus as he seeks to undo the Tory turmoil and financial damage caused by Trussonomics.
His main concern will be on reuniting the warring factions within his party and balancing the books with tough economic choices amid the cost-of-living crisis.
The Conservatives regaining public confidence in their handling of the economy will be essential if Mr Sunak ever hopes to win the next general election and another term as Prime Minister.
Do you think Mr Sunak will be a good PM and a good influence on Northern Ireland's political landscape? Let us know in the comments.
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