Liz Truss’s worst nightmare is the lingering shadow of her predecessor

Boris Johnson has likened himself to Cincinnatus, who turned to farming after leaving Rome but returned as a dictator

He exited in sunshine, she entered after a heavy downpour. And those optics will have suited Boris Johnson just fine.

Normally, when there is a transfer of power, all eyes are on the new, with scarcely a backward glance toward the old. The wattage of the outgoing leader is instantly dimmed, their words no longer weighed or even heard. They are yesterday and everyone wants to think about tomorrow.