'Librium Liz' has been doing a good job of sending herself up

The British political pack. Photo by Klim Musalimov on Unsplash

When I heard Liz Truss, Britain’s prime minister for barely three weeks, on the radio on Thursday, September 29, I couldn’t help remember that moment in American politics when Donald Trump became seriously unfunny.

It was late 2015, during the presidential campaign, and Mr Trump was no longer God’s gift to television satirists. Not because he wasn’t absurd but because he was too absurd. The nature of satire is exaggeration -amplifying politicians’ actions, statements and mannerisms to the point of absurdity. But Mr Trump already spoke in so exaggerated a mode (“my IQ is one of the highest” was one of his early gems) it was hard to parody him by turning the absurdity up a notch. He was, disappointed satirists realised, already a walking caricature of himself. There was no possible fun to be had from someone who was dangerously funny (as in weird).

Liz Truss currently sounds like a pre-recorded message telling you she’s sorry …