JJ Powell

Over in Rome, a government’s just pulled off something nobody’s managed since the war: 1,313 — no, 1,413 — days in office, one after the other. That’s a single day more than Berlusconi’s second government between 2001 and 2005. And in a country that’s churned through getting on for seventy governments in eighty years, that actually means something.

Now, I don’t agree with much of what the Meloni government says or does — and I’ll say so plainly. But lasting is an achievement in its own right. They’ve dodged the meltdowns and the walkouts that did for everyone before them. They’ve cut taxes. The crossings by sea are well down on where they were in 2023. And on the world stage, Italy’s finally got a voice you can actually place.

I know the shine’s worn off at home, mind. Cost of living, a health service slipping backwards, crime on the streets — people have got solid reasons to be fed up. Sticking around a long time isn’t the same as governing well.

But over here? Different story altogether. One prime minister, then the next, then the one after that. A merry-go-round at the top that never stops turning. We’ve gone and made ourselves weaker at the very moment the world turned harder.

Britain doesn’t need a new face every couple of years. It needs a steady one — someone who’ll stay the course and keep their nerve. A firm hand on the wheel.