Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 9023

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates (the narrator Sharik says: I do not know whether he narrated this as a marfu' hadith, attributed to the Prophet, or did not narrate it as marfu'); he said: "The beginning of governance is regret, its middle is a penalty, and its end is punishment on the Day of Resurrection."
Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).