I had this insight a few days ago, that France is ruled by engineers and historians – lawyers and bankers just do their things – while Australia is ruled by lawyers and bankers – engineers and historians just do their things.

This may be the starting point for a sweeping cross-cultural comparison between my two countries. Who’s in the ruling seat, who’s at the margins? Lawyers, or historians? Bankers, or engineers? And to what extent does the dominance of one professional form of expertise colour the overall culture? Lines of reflection to pursue.