Our new Prime Minister has given each of his new minion-sters a little ‘welcome to power’ gift. He announced the gift on Twitter last night: ‘a lapel pin with the Australian flag on it.’ PM Morrison has apparently been wearing one for years because, he tweeted, ‘it reminds me every single day whose side I’m on. I’m on the side of the Australian people.’

On the same day the miniature Aussie flags were being handed out, the last statement of US Senator John McCain was being broadcast around the globe. ‘We weaken our greatness’, the ghost of Senator McCain reminded us, ‘when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe.’