After nearly four months spent licking his wounds at his southern Californian retreat, Mitt Romney has re-entered the political dogfight, bemoaning to handlers at Fox News the state of the whole pound down in Washington. In released clips from his first sit-down interview since losing the presidential election in November, Romney does not growl so much as grumble about the the missed opportunities that had led to the fiscal fiasco over the sequester.

"It's very frustrating, I have to tell you," Romney tells Fox's Chris Wallace, continuing: "The hardest thing about losing is watching this, the critical moment, this golden moment just slip away with politics." The clear subtext is that if he had been elected, such a chance would not have been missed.

To Romney, the looming sequestration and the expiration of Bush-era tax relief had provided the White House with an opportunity to solve America's fiscal problems in one go, so that the nation could "become more competitive globally" and "lead the world for the coming century".

"I mean I see this as this huge opportunity and it's being squandered by politics, by people who are more interested in a political victory than they are in doing what's right for the country," he said.

Romney also criticises president Barack Obama, for "flying around the country and berating Republicans and blaming and pointing" instead of steering Washington around the latest signposted fiscal crisis. The full interview is due to air tomorrow morning, on Fox News Sunday.

Romney's appearance, alongside his wife Ann, comes ahead of a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on 15 March. The annual gathering, known as Cpac, brings Republican leaders and activists voices together to discuss the future of the party.

Whether Romney will play a part as the GOP embarks on its next stage is a moot point. Some appear to have embraced the former Massachusetts governor with open arms, suggesting that he will be allowed back onto the couch. The Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, who is tipped by many to make a run for the presidency in 2016, said: "We need as many voices for conservative reform and leadership as possible."

However, another of the politicians who is being talked about as a possible contender, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, appeared less convinced, telling reporters that "the jury's out" on what role Romney could play. A Bloomberg poll from December put at just 30% the number of people who rated Romney "excellent" or "good" in terms of the help he could give the Republican Party in future elections. His campaign in the year ahead of November's vote also failed to ignite the party base.

Some may hope that after being given the opportunity to bark on Fox News, then have his belly rubbed at CPAC, the Romney family will strap the fight-weary dog to the roof of their station wagon and head back to the roomy kennels of California.