Now the Government is divided over Europe, experiments messily with forms of reheated Thatcherism and faces a tricky leadership contest – and all this with a tiny majority of 12. Yet a lot of senior Labour figures now expect the Conservatives to win by a landslide in 2020.
The rain and the subsequent easing in conditions at Goodwood this morning will be in the favour of Blue Surf (1.55), who will make the short trip from Amanda Perrett's yard to run in what looks a tricky opening contest at the Channel 4-televised meeting.
Nadal lost his only tour match of the season so far against Germany's Michael Berrer at the Qatar Open on 6 January, and faces a tricky first-round contest in Melbourne against experienced Russian Mikhail Youzhny on Monday.
Instead, he will get what is likely to be a very distant view of Denman when he rides Tricky Trickster in the same contest.
These elections, widely trumpeted as the world's biggest-ever multinational democratic vote, were fought for the most part as 25 separate national contests, which makes it tricky to pick out many common themes (see article).
Nothing so bad greeted Mr Osborne; but just as local elections, a tricky EU referendum and a party leadership contest all loom, he certainly comes away with his once-formidable reputation badly dented.
The Bulldogs face a tricky test in Utah Thursday, playing a nationally televised contest against a B.Y.U.
After the bandleaders Tito Puente and Machito helped him master the mambo's tricky clave rhythm, he went on to win dozens of contests and lasting fame as the mambo craze swept the country.
"The goal of the contest is for people to create something mischievous, or tricky, or hacker related," says Grand, who runs Grand Idea Studio, a prototyping lab.
Those games, which include high-profile exhibitions against Scotland and Brazil, culminate with two honest-to-goodness World Cup qualifiers: a June 8 contest against Antigua and Barbuda in Tampa, Fla., and a tricky road match in Guatemala four days later.
