Mitt Romney: when 'no' doesn't mean 'no'

Furthermore, once ridiculed by Democrats for insisting that Russia was the United States' "number one geopolitical foe", Romney, by virtue of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, was beginning to gather a certain, though misplaced, posthumous foreign policy credibility.

This personal renaissance and slight salvaging of his reputation ought to have been enough. Yet, just as with the man in our psychoanalytic tale, Romney wasn't satisfied. His overwhelming desire to hold the highest office in the United States seems to have made applying appropriate context for such niceties, near impossible. For Romney, this small semblance of affection was indicative of a much deeper electoral love. So once again brimming with hubris, and believing it was desired of him, Mitt Romney set about running for President.

However, if he was hoping to be embraced by his former colleagues and welcomed back into his former life, Romney was to be sorely disappointed. By all accounts, the Republican establishment, in the role of our psychoanalytic woman, were firstly caught off guard, and secondly repulsed, by this unrequited advance.

At that stage, the only saving grace for Romney was that he recognised his mistake quite quickly, dropping out of the race just as evasively as he had entered it: "After putting considerable thought into making another run for President, I've decided it is best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee."

But once again Romney is back, and this time his ex-girlfriend (the Republican Party) has an abusive boyfriend that she is trying to rid herself of in the form of Donald Trump – Romney can now play the role of white knight.

However, this new found motivation and public engagement with the Republican nomination process can only reasonably be viewed through the prism of political opportunity. Ordinarily, conventions are formalities in function and vanity parades in process – they are coming out parties for the already nominated. However in the event that no candidate receives the required 1237 delegates needed to form an absolute majority, things suddenly get very interesting. The delegates for each state are suddenly no longer bound by the will of their voters and are free to change their pledge in order to try and force an outcome.

Under the 2012 regulations, candidates would need to have won a minimum of eight states in order to get their name on the first round of ballots. Yet once the deadlock occurs and the horse-trading and deal-making begins, these regulations fall away. After multiple votes and multiple failures, the Party can, and will ultimately, turn to outsiders as a compromise solution.

After all, they do eventually have to pick a candidate – and this presents a unique opportunity for a select few high profile Republicans currently outside the campaign process, yet with enough name-recognition to mobilise the Party's base in a general election. And what has become clear in the last week, is that Mitt Romney believes that he is the one person who can save the Party from the spectre of a Trump nomination – the longer he keeps fronting media conferences and campaign-esque events, the stronger this perception will become.

However, even if a brokered convention were to become a reality and the delegates become so terminally deadlocked that they begin considering outside candidates, it will still likely end in tears for Romney.

Alternative nominees, such as Paul Ryan, would almost certainly be seen as more palatable options, and even if Romney's name made it onto the convention floor, the current batch of Republican hopefuls are likely to find him very useful – just not in the way that he would hope. His 2012 campaign presents as an easy pivot point from which they can explain the mistakes that they won't be repeating should they win the Republican nomination – it is likely, that for a second time, Mitt Romney will be publicly purged.

Romney, almost certainly has, once again, misread the mood. He has mistaken hatred for Trump as love for himself. The Republican Party has been as clear as she could be about her feelings for Mitt. Yet from a few kind gestures, and ignoring all other contrary indicators, Romney has managed to manufacture a false signal and a false intent that conveniently matches his internal desire.

And as painful as this may prove to be, it is unlikely to be his political swansong – Mitt Romney, it seems, will only ever be a few friendly words away from once again running for elected office in the future.

Either way, it will be mayhem in Cleveland!