No such worries for National at its Mainland Regional Conference, held in Dunedin on Saturday: you would be hard-pressed to find a happier bunch of delegates if you tried.
Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager did manage to get out on Lake Waihola in the morning though, purely as an exercise in ministerial responsibility no doubt.
This conference was quite a contrast from the last time Dunedin held it.
Back then National was in Opposition, had recently changed to an as yet untested leader, and opinion polls were not indicating it was a government in waiting.
Christopher Luxon was greeted with polite applause three years ago and struggled to muster anything like an ovation, let alone a standing one.
The welcome for him this time, and for Finance Minister Nicola Willis, was warm and, on this occasion, delegates needed little prompting to rise to their feet.
Mr Luxon’s rhetoric is seldom stirring, and he opened on a perilous note, reminding delegates that the Crusaders had been triumphant in the local Super Rugby derby the previous week.
After that unrepentant opening, Mr Luxon gave each of his Southern MPs a shout out, before settling down for a rousing chorus of "National good, Labour bad".
"We have reversed Labour’s harmful and frankly delusional policies and prioritised a very ambitious programme that restores your freedom and also enhances your opportunities," Mr Luxon said.
"Success doesn’t just fall out of a tree.
"It has to be cultivated, it has to be protected, and it has to be upheld.
"And it only takes a few dumb decisions and thoughtless policies to unravel the whole thing.
"I’ve got to say, didn’t we see some doozies from the last government as a result of all that?
"So after consigning the very worst of those policies to the trash heap, we initiated an ambitious programme of reforms."
Ambition is in the eye of the beholder of course, and Mr Luxon was making sweeping claims of greatness in the same week that Ms Willis had been extolling fiscal prudence and reducing the amount of new spending that will be announced in the May 22 Budget.
"Despite this narrative that the media will run for us making cuts, it’s nothing further from the truth.
"We have actually put record investments into health and education and transport and defence," he argued.
Mr Luxon proclaimed National was rebuilding the economy, lifting incomes and lowering the cost of living, as well as passing 52 Bills in its first 12 months in government.
"The armchair economists and media said it would be inflationary. And they were both wrong. We delivered a tax relief at no extra cost."
Extra and record spending on health services — complete with yet more lines such as "the media will never tell you this story" — Mr Luxon was on a roll as he extolled the fast-track legislation, RMA reform, educational changes, and a law-and-order crack down.
"We are not the party of just nice platitudes and empty actions.
"We are the party who gets things done and delivers. That’s what we are here for."
Unsurprisingly, this was joyfully received — especially a re-heat of last week’s announcement that financial literacy would be added to the school curriculum.
"I have to say, getting us back on track is like turning around a supertanker.
"It doesn’t happen overnight, but I hope that you feel, and you can sense that the momentum is building.
"And I have to say, 18 months into this job, I’ve never been more ambitious, more excited for the potential of this great country of ours, New Zealand."
Neither were the party faithful, who were delighted with what they had heard.
The dig at the Highlanders might even, just, have been forgiven.
