It would be fun to see politicians getting caught up in some kind of escalating courtesy contest. Getting preemptive apologies in before the other side could apologise first.

It might even work. The trick would be to put out the apology in a way that made people think what a decent honourable bloke you were, and make your opponent would look like all pompous and prissy. But they'd do the same and there'd be a response in the same way...