Whanganui MP Chester Borrows is keen to get his feet under the Cabinet table and he believes Saturday's election success may help clinch it.
Mr Borrows - who comfortably got across the line for a fourth term - has been recognised already by Prime Minister John Key. He was named Minister of Courts in 2011 and followed that with roles as associate minister of both Justice and Social Development.
Now the 57-year-old former policeman and lawyer reckons he's ready for the main game but will have to wait until Mr Key makes his ministerial appointments, which will probably be in about a week.
At the moment Mr Borrows sits outside Cabinet but he is frank about his ambitions being higher than that.
"Being outside Cabinet means you don't go to Cabinet meetings every Monday. I want to fly as high as I can so I want to be a minister inside Cabinet," he told the Chronicle on Saturday night.
Two senior Ministers have gone - Health Minister Tony Ryall has retired and Justice Minister Judith Collins resigned from Cabinet under a cloud last month - so he believes there is a possibility he could be shuffled up the ranks.
"But these are questions for the prime minister," he said.
The fact National can govern alone could work in his favour - fewer parties to accommodate in a coalition means more spots are available.
"I've had some conversations with the prime minister and he's been encouraging but there's no promises. First things first was to win the election and we've done that."
Mr Borrows spent some time in Wanganui with party faithful before heading to the Hawera Club where the branch was stationed for Saturday night. Not surprisingly the atmosphere was enthusiastic.
For an MP who came close to walking away after his second failed attempt to win Whanganui in 2002 - he lost to Labour in his first bid in 1999 - Saturday's result was especially satisfying.
The party came knocking in 2005 and he claimed the seat and has held it ever since.
Even though Labour's Hamish McDouall chipped into Mr Borrow's election night majority of three years ago, under Mr Borrows watch National has continued to do well in a city that historically has been a Labour stronghold.
He said many believed the electorate only extended from the city to where he lived in Hawera, when it extends much further into South Taranaki.
There were still people in the South Taranaki who did not like the idea of being in an electorate called Whanganui but he said one of his focuses would be to bring those strands of the electorate together and be "a truly representative MP for all communities".