After everything he has done, a quiet farewell would have been appropriate.
But a quiet farewell would of course not have suited Boris Johnson.
On his last day as prime minister, he once again pulled out all the rhetorical stops.
The fact that he offered his successor Liz Truss his “energetic support” on this occasion could well be seen by parts of the Conservative Party as a threat from a politician who sees his active political life far from over.
There has been speculation for a long time that he initially wants to be the power behind the power, but that in the longer term he would like to return to the front ranks.
Truss has to swim free
Age-wise, that wouldn't be a problem.
In fact, everyone deserves a second chance.
But what should a former head of government want to be in a monarchy that doesn't have the representative office of a president?
In essence, the only option left is to return to Downing Street after a reasonably long 'cooling off' period.
The successor, who still showed unwavering loyalty to Johnson during the election campaign for the party leadership, should swim away from him as quickly as possible – in the interest of her office and in the interest of her party.
A prime minister on call would be a through ball for the Labor Party in the 2024 election.