Theresa May’s portrait is so appealing it makes me forgive her faults – almost | Emma Brockes

There's a strong tradition of flattery in the genre. But can we really forget the go home' vans and, er, Brexit?

An abiding curiosity of recent British political history is the speed at which recently loathed leaders become more palatable in light of their abysmal replacements. If Boris Johnson seemed the worst prime minister in every conceivable category, Liz Truss - perhaps her major achievement in government - found new ways to unseat him.

Theresa May, considered reliably awful for most of her three-year tenure, appears a model of sanity compared to her successors. As a measure of this, the unveiling this week of a portrait of May triggered not the gag reflex of yore but something almost like warmth. My first thought, on seeing the painting, was that if I didn't know who she was, I would totally hang that on my wall.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist