Off we go again. Two-and-a-half years after he was cast into the political wilderness, Michael Portillo's endorsement by the tweed and pearls set of the Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Association has virtually made certain his return to Parliament.
Before he takes his seat in the Commons - a prospect relished by both Labour and Conservative MPs, though for very different reasons - Portillo must persuade the constituents of Kensington and Chelsea to elect him as their MP.
A Tory victory is already being talked about as a foregone conclusion. Certainly, the 9,519 majority secured by the late Alan Clark should prove a safe enough cushion for Portillo on polling day, November 25th.
But there are some dark clouds on the horizon. While the Tories have won the three seats they have defended during this Parliament - Uxbridge, Eddisbury and Beckenham - Portillo's revelations about his homosexual experiences are set to make this by-election campaign a difficult contest for the former defence minister, regardless of whether Peter Tatchell, of the gay rights group Outrage!, chooses to stand as an independent.
Tatchell is considering his next move. His supporters and fellow members of Outrage! disrupted Portillo's acceptance speech at Kensington Town Hall on Tuesday night. Within minutes of beginning his speech with a promise that the election would be fought on the Conservatives' "sterling guarantee" that the party would not abolish the pound, gay rights activists interrupted Portillo with shouts of "hypocrite" and "homosexual".
Displaying the charisma that undoubtedly secured his selection in Kensington and Chelsea, Portillo smiled and answered the charge by referring to Tatchell's decision to hide his homosexuality when he stood as a candidate in Bermondsey in 1982.
The charge that Portillo's past experiences as a student sit uncomfortably with his decisions to uphold the ban on gays in the military and to oppose lowering the age of consent for homosexuals when he was in government will haunt him during the by-election campaign, despite his best efforts to address his past.
Gay rights activists will demonstrate wherever he goes during the campaign. And if he wins, he will be asked some difficult questions if similar age of consent legislation comes up again.
There will also be a few difficult questions for the Tory leader, William Hague, to address. What exactly should he do with Portillo if he returns to Parliament?
Both men were swift in their expressions of mutual support, mindful that Labour will exploit Portillo's return as a disruptive influence on Hague's leadership.
Portillo told constituency activists they "couldn't put a cigarette paper between me and William Hague" while the Tory leader praised him as a "very good" candidate to win the seat within hours of his selection.
Behind the words, however, there are real concerns for the Conservatives. Portillo is the big hitter Hague's critics have been praying for. If the political commentators are correct, he could soon be installed as shadow foreign secretary or shadow chancellor to face Robin Cook or Gordon Brown across the despatch box. And if he performs well, not only Hague but Tony Blair will suffer a political headache.
One factor in Hague's favour is that as an official Tory candidate and later MP, Portillo must toe the party policy line if he is to prove his loyalty to the leadership. To do otherwise would prove his undoing, despite his hopes to lead the party one day.
Once inside the Commons, however, he will be perfectly placed to gather his supporters around him should he choose to launch a leadership challenge if Labour wins the next general election.
The impact of the return of the "big beast" to Parliament was also high on Tony Blair's agenda this week. The Kensington and Chelsea selection was officially listed on the week's events to be noted which was handed out to journalists by Blair's official spokesman.
After his selection, Labour quickly reminded voters that Portillo played a vital role in introducing the poll tax in the 1980s and portrayed him as a "right-winger at ease in an increasingly hard-right Conservative Party".
Until Portillo walks back into the Commons, however, he knows he must be careful not to ruffle any Conservative feathers. Offering a taste of his new, softer image, he declared himself a Hagueite, bearing the flag of the common-sense revolution.
But there were also a few words for those who were not the "movers and shakers" in his constituency. "There are many people who have great problems and who need the help of their MP. I am looking forward to helping them."
Parliament, too, will be looking forward to Michael Portillo.