As Anthony Albanese headed home from Washington, DC, at the most triumphant point of his long political career, did he reflect on how much he owes Donald Trump?

A large proportion of Australians cannot abide Trump and are alarmed by his disruptive ways. The Labor Party won a massive parliamentary majority at the May 3 election in part because Albanese was the safe, known option running against Peter Dutton, who stood by while one of his frontbench favourites, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, championed Trump and promised to Make Australia Great Again during the campaign.

Illustration by Dionne Gain

Tuesday’s meeting showed that Trump likes Albanese. What’s the one thing guaranteed to make Trump look favourably on a foreign leader? That they’re a winner, and Albanese is a winner. Thank you, Mr President.

Getting the breaks going your way is an often-underappreciated factor in a politician’s success or failure. No matter how you view it, Albanese’s meeting with Trump was a triumph not just for him but for his senior ministers and for his ambassador and old political mate Kevin Rudd.

A combination of good fortune, hard work and astute judgment brought about the result. Most successful prime ministers have had a whopping helping of good luck at some point. The Joh-for-Canberra push helped Bob Hawke win a third term. Mark Latham as Labor leader gave John Howard a fourth term and a Senate majority.

Some unlikely fairy godmothers besides Trump feature in Albanese’s story. A basic expectation of any modern government is to secure its borders. Witness the rapid fall in support for the Labour government of Keir Starmer in the UK as it has failed over the........

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