A RINGING endorsement from US President Donald trump might not mean much to a lot of Australian voters, but it would have been music to the ears of our Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier this week.
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And the timing could not have been better for the PM, coming in the same week that he celebrated a first anniversary in The Lodge that few thought likely when he took over the nation's top job last August.
On that occasion he was last man standing after Peter Dutton's supporters bungled their attempt to dethrone Malcolm Turnbull and, with opinion polls suggesting the Coalition was well on the nose with voters, Mr Morrison was not expected to hold on to the job past the federal election.
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But he defied the odds to become PM and defied them again at the election to remain PM - and now Mr Morrison is enjoying the sort of job security that was just a dream for his most recent predecessors.
Tony Abbott's defeat at the election and Mr Turnbull's retirement from politics have left Mr Morrison with no obvious challengers within his cabinet and allowed him to lead without looking over his shoulder.
Mr Turnbull, Mr Abbott, Mr Rudd and Julia Gillard must all be looking on enviously.
Mr Morrison's arrival in The Lodge has also coincided with a pumped-up international profile for the office of Australian PM.
He this week became the first Australian PM to attend a G7 conference as a guest [though Kevin Rudd was a guest at the G8 summit 2008] and it was there that he received his words of praise from Mr Trump, who called Mr Morrison "fantastic".
"In fact, we're honouring him and Australia at the White House in a very short period of time," Mr Trump said, also confirming he planned to visit Australia "at some point".
It was heady stuff for a relative newcomer on the world stage, and even more significant given Mr Trump's reportedly frosty relationship with Mr Turnbull.
And while many Australians might sneer at Mr Trump's presidency, he remains the leader of Australia's largest and most powerful ally and our country can only benefit from a good relationship with the White House.
Mr Morrison hopes there are many anniversaries to come, but he will do well to enjoy a better year than his first as PM.
When he became PM, few thought he was the right man for the job. One year on, though it looks like the right job for the man.
