IRELAND’S Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had it right when he said this was not the end but only the “the end of the beginning”.

While it seems the UK has given ground on the financial settlement and the EU on its desire for the European court to have a major role on citizens’ rights, the biggest fudge has come on the Irish border.

Having placated the DUP by insisting that whatever deal is done it would not treat Northern Ireland separately but as a part of the UK as a whole and having given Dublin all it wanted on maintaining an open border, the question still remains how will it be done in practice.

In the joint agreement, the UK and EU talk of “specific solutions to address the unique circumstances of the island of Ireland” and that if these cannot be found, then the UK would maintain “full alignment” with the rules of the single market and the customs union. And, of course, the latter would be UKwide; in other words, a soft Brexit for Britain.

When the deal was announced it was interesting to hear how gushing Michael Gove was in his praise of Mrs May’s achievement; a cynical person might think he was auditioning to become the next First Secretary should Damian Green succumb to a negative outcome in the Cabinet Office inquiry; due soon.

The political question is: has Mrs May’s diplomatic triumph on Brexit changed the view about her own future as Tory leader and Prime Minister?

As Conservative MPs examine their own futures and their chances of survival at the ballot box, the evidence of June suggests they still firmly believe the answer is no.

Earlier this week, George Osborne, the former Chancellor, and clearly not Mrs May’s number one fan, noted how the “consensus” among Tory MPs was that the PM would not lead them into the 2022 General Election.

Indeed, the gathering view at Westminster is that even if she were able to achieve the smooth and positive Brexit outcome she seeks, Mrs May would not last beyond the spring of 2019, which would act as a natural departure point; one way or the other.

There are no clear manoeuvrings of a potential successor yet, although things have been read into Gavin “Private Pike” Williamson’s elevation to the top job at the Ministry of Defence and Priti Patel’s seeming delight at being placed outside the May tent with her enforced departure from the Department for International Development.

Then, of course, there is always Boris, waiting patiently outside the scrum for the ball to fall into his hands.

Mrs May has at long last had some good news after a torrid few months but if a week is a long time in politics, then at times the next 12 months might seem like an eternity.

Given the number of potential Brexit elephant traps ahead, Mrs May cannot savour her diplomatic triumph on phase one of the talks for too long; phase two looks set to be a whole lot trickier given the final deal will have to get through several different parliaments before the end of the end is finally reached.