I have spent the last decade in rooms where people cannot agree on the color of the sky, let alone the direction of the British economy. From the backbenches of Westminster to the pub floors in the North, the tribalism is suffocating. Yet, as Liz Truss embarks on her latest media circuit to promote her second book since her historically brief tenure at Number 10, I am struck by a rare, shimmering moment of national harmony. It turns out there is one thing that can still bring a divided nation together: the collective, incredulous laughter directed at a leader who remains remarkably immune to her own legacy.

To understand the gravity of this consensus, one must revisit the chaos of late 2022. Truss entered office with a radical libertarian agenda that managed to alienate the markets, the public, and her own party in record time. Her mini-budget didn’t just fail; it detonated, sending the pound into a tailspin and mortgage rates into the stratosphere. She was outlasted by a head of iceberg lettuce in a tabloid stunt that became a global shorthand for political incompetence. Most politicians would seek a quiet life of consulting or gardening after such a catastrophic exit. Instead, Truss has doubled down, positioning herself as a misunderstood prophet of the right.

This matters because we live in an era where shared reality is a disappearing commodity. We argue over Brexit, wealth distribution, and cultural identity with a vitriol that suggests we no longer speak the same language. But Truss provides a service she never intended. By refusing to acknowledge the objective failure of her 49-day stint, she has become a folk hero of the absurd. Her presence in the public eye acts as a pressure valve. In a world of grim geopolitical stakes, the sight of a former leader blaming a 'deep state' of central bankers and environmentalists for her own mathematical errors is a rare piece of high-quality, bipartisan entertainment.

We should not mistake this for affection, but we should recognize it as a unique form of social glue. There is a specific kind of bond forged when an entire population looks at a screen and realizes they are all thinking the exact same thing. She is the only figure left who can elicit the same eye-roll from a socialist worker and a conservative hedge fund manager alike.

Watch closely as the book tour continues. The metric of her success won't be her sales figures, but her ability to keep a straight face while the rest of the country finds common ground in the mockery. In the absence of a shared vision for the future, perhaps a shared punchline is the best we can hope for.