Choose a nice outfit and hold a sword steady: is that what it takes to succeed in politics now? | Adrian Chiles

Penny Mordaunt did a magnificent job at the coronation but that's no reason to make her leader of the Conservative party

Let's be honest, the coronation wasn't everyone's cup of tea. But on one matter there was consensus: Penny Mordaunt was simply magnificent. Praise came from the left of politics as well as the right, from the young and the old, from fashionistas and arbiters of good taste everywhere. Even before the newly crowned king and queen had reboarded their carriage, acclaim for the lord president of the privy council was frenzied, feeding off itself. Odds on her becoming the next leader of the Conservatives were slashed; learned articles were penned marking this as the moment we knew she was destined for greatness.

Now, if you search her name on Google, the first offering is Penny Mordaunt sword". Appropriately enough, given there's a blade involved, there has been proper cut-through. She has carved a swathe through the whole wide world. Even my Croatian teacher, speaking from Zagreb, asked me about it. She says it's a socioloki fenomen. She is right. Theses beg to be written.

Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist