Anas Sarwar cracked a telling joke at a business reception with Chancellor Rachel Reeves in Glasgow this week.
He told guests his favourite Labour figure in the shadow cabinet before the election had been Sir Keir Starmer.
But after Labour entered Government that changed to Reeves because she “holds the chequebook”.
The gag spoke a wider truth about power in the Labour government and the impact on Sarwar’s chances on winning the Holyrood election.
The Scottish Labour leader’s dilemma is he wants the next two years to showcase the positive difference a Labour Government can make to people’s lives.
He wants Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s workers’ rights package pushed through and GB Energy up and running.
But at the same time Starmer has warned the early months of his Government will be marked by spending cuts and tax rises.
Sarwar wants to be the bearer of good news while Reeves is committed to the opposite in the short-term.
She is the architect of a strategy of fixing the rotten foundations of a broken UK economy before fiscal expansion can take place.
Social justice is taking a back seat while the Chancellor puts in place measures to stabilise the economy and boost growth.
Sarwar knows tough choices have to be made but will be impatient for the good times to roll.
The danger he faces is the SNP accusation of Labour austerity will stick and John Swinney will be thrown a lifeline.
Winter Fuel Payment cuts were an early taste of a nasty October budget and other painful cuts are in the pipeline.
He also realises he cannot criticise Reeves as he could lose the influence he has over a Cabinet Minister who holds the purse strings.
Sarwar was all smiles at the reception, but it will turn to a frown if a new dawn does not arrive quickly.
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