Boris Johnson has insisted he does not want to be prime minister - for now.
Speaking to ITV's Daybreak programme on Wednesday, the London mayor said he thought it was "inconceivable" that he could one day lead the country.
But qualified that by adding: "At the moment, I don't want to be prime minister."
Since the start of the Olympics there has been constant chatter about Boris' ambitions to succeed David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party.
Sceptics have wondered whether the mayor would be taken seriously enough by the electorate, something Boris acknowledged this morning.
"How could anybody elect a prat who gets stuck in a zip wire?" He asked. "How on earth could you elect that guy?"
However as David Cameron pointed out as news filtered through to him that the mayor was suspended mid-air over Victoria Park in east London: "If any other politician anywhere in the world was stuck on a zipwire it would be a disaster. For Boris, it's an absolute triumph."
Boris has repeatedly said he would serve out his full term as mayor, which some suggest would prevent him from returning to the Commons until 2016 at the earliest.
"I have got four years of mayor of London ahead," he said. "Perhaps this is the moment to knock this once and for all on the head? I am mayor of London and my cup runs over."