Someone pointed out in a locked entry that the same day that Julia Gillard slightly unexpectedly became prime minister of Australia, Iveta Radičová has been asked to form the next government of Slovakia. This is two days after Mari Kiviniemi took up her position as prime minister of Finland.

Oddly enough this isn’t the first time that two women have become prime ministers in different countries simultaneously: it was 17 years ago tomorrow, 25 June 1993, that Tansu Çiller and Kim Campbell became the first women prime ministers of Turkey and Canada. (And strictly speaking Radičová doesn’t formally take up office until she gets parliamentary approval.)