AHEAD of his first trip to the United Nations this week, Andy Burnham was warned by aides the experience would be the political equivalent of “white water rafting”.
You hurtle through a manic gladhanding of fellow leaders while trying to avoid crashing into diplomatic rocks.
The most precarious section is inevitably tangling with Donald Trump, whose sheer force of personality reduces other premiers to passengers in their own meeting.
Paddling in the opposite direction is not advised – and can be downright dangerous.
That the PM avoided being chewed up and spat out by the erratic President was banked as a win by No10.
While Trump’s mauling of the “ridiculous” Chagos deal grabbed the headlines, Burnham’s team played up the firm defence of the Falkland Islands he gave behind closed doors.
The White House was left in no doubt about Britain’s unwavering position on the islands, sources say.
But senior insiders also say the President subjected Burnham to his usual shellacking over illegal immigration.
They say that Trump’s blistering criticism of countries failing to tackle migration during his main speech was primarily directed at Britain.
So while Burnham survived this time – he is after all only weeks into the job – failing to deliver could see the relationship sour. Just ask Sir Keir Starmer.
Just days after dancing around the world’s most powerful right-winger, Burnham will be on home turf at the Labour party conference in Liverpool this weekend.
Speculation had mounted that the PM could use the annual rally to galvanise the party’s membership and recharge its financial war chest ahead of an early election.
But that was before a mega-poll showed Labour would sacrifice its majority and force him into an unholy alliance with the Lib Dems, Greens and other nationalist parties.
He might want a mandate of his own, yet leading a shaky coalition with other parties calling the shots could be a gamble too far.
A No10 source said about the prospect of going to the polls early: “Not gonna happen.”
Liverpool, though, will still be an opportunity for Burnham to put Labour on an election footing – firing up activists, wooing donors and stamping his authority on the party.
And there should be no shortage of foot soldiers.
Labour expects this weekend’s gathering to be its most-attended conference ever by accreditation, in a boost for a new PM determined to show the party has its mojo back.
“Optimism” has become the buzzword among Labour chiefs in recent days, with the slogan “Hope Again” plastered across the conference.
One senior source said the gathering would be the first big opportunity to bring the party together behind the PM’s vision and put “more flesh on the bones” of the agenda he has sketched out since entering No10.
That will mean a heavy focus on giving families “breathing space” from the cost-of-living squeeze, “getting Britain believing again” and delivering “good growth in every postcode”.
There will be a string of policy announcements, although Burnham will keep his full 10-year plan under wraps until later this year.
“There’s only good things that can come out of this conference,” one long-time ally of the PM said.
Yet the Liverpool love-in will not be entirely free of awkwardness.
Labour MPs believe one of the biggest fault lines will be over North Sea oil and gas, with unions worried about protecting jobs on a collision course with environmental campaigners over projects such as Jackdaw and Rosebank
Burnham will also have to contend with some familiar faces from Labour’s recent past prowling the conference bars and fringe events.
A clutch of Starmer-era Cabinet ministers who lost their jobs in Burnham’s post-election purge are heading to Liverpool, with several booked for speeches, panels and media appearances.
And after their abrupt eviction from the Government, few would blame them for wanting to make their voices heard.
But this weekend is ultimately designed to make clear whose Labour Party it is now.
And while an early election may suddenly look a less attractive proposition, it does not mean Burnham will waste the opportunity to get his troops ready for one.