Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his entourage have just touched down in Rome for another brief stop on a whirlwind of brief stops in Western Europe (a few hours in Paris, an overnight in Bonn, Germany, this evening in Rome, then to London tomorrow to visit the Queen and home in time for the repeat of The National at 11 p.m.)

Rome will probably be the high point for Joe Comuzzi. The former Liberal MP from Thunder Bay-Superior North is one of the few members of the Conservative caucus who is of Italian descent and he was lucky enough to be invited on the prime minister's trip.

Comuzzi was elected in 1988 under then Liberal leader John Turner. Now, at 75, the oldest MP in the House, he hasn't said yet whether he'll run in the next election, though he is thought to be leaning against it.

The Conservatives are keen to keep the popular MP and six-time winner on their team and hope he can be persuaded that he has one more campaign in him.

It is surely coincidence, but a VIP trip to Rome, including a meeting with the recently-returned Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, can't help but remind Comuzzi that sometimes an MP's life can be pretty sweet!