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Missing the point of Mandy

Peter Mandelson’s re-appointment to Gordon Brown’s cabinet is a potential disaster, and not just for Britain.

I have always liked Mandelson more than any other Labour politician. I ought to hate him, because his strategic genius gave us the New Labour revolution of the last decade. But his lucent unwillingness to pretend he is an imbecile, to conceal the fact of his cunning, or to act out his party’s customary hatred of private enterprise, even while his pupils execute their vile populist capers, is to me endearing.

Maybe that is why I’m worried more than stunned by his return to British politics. While most commentators are mesmerised by the story of Brown’s feud with The Prince of Darkness, and the daring of playing with Labour Party’s own resentment of him by bringing him back from Brussels, I am more interested in strategy. Do not just look at the flashy sacrifice; see how it changes the board.

There is now a gap in the European Commission. Brown will appoint one of his favourites to it, and have far reaching influence on Europe, and therefore Britain, even after he steps down. This can be seen as a subtle purge by bribery, and as a retirement strategy. A preparation for the Brown legacy.

There is now a gap in the European Commission. Whoever fills Mandelson’s Trade portfolio will be replacing one of the most free-trade-friendly commissioners that the EU has ever had, in a financial crisis, with protectionist populism surging on both sides of the Atlantic. Brown’s legacy could easily be a trade war and a real depression.

16 comments to Missing the point of Mandy

  • Ham

    This is being discussed in the media as if it were a promotion, but is that accurate?

  • guy herbert

    Well he gets a peerage out of it.

  • Does this mean he is now the Lord of Darkness? That has a better ring to it, somehow.

    My hunch is that being forced to resign twice rankles somewhat, and that he rather likes being begged to return, if that is indeed what has happened. He probably scares most of the other Labour MPs, and now that Brown doesn’t, he may be useful. Heaven knows what else Mandleson may have been promised to take this.

  • RAB

    Are you entirely sure he was so wonderful as Commissioner?
    I seem to remember some cock up on the trading front with China.
    Something about shoes wasn’t it?

  • Oh behave Guy!

    Mandy is an utter cunt. He should be pan-handling if he’s fucking lucky.

    Every last one of these bastards should be broken on the wheel for what they have done.

    And Mandy is no exception. Though it’s Ed “chocolate salty” Balls elevation to “Climate Secretary” that really gets me.

    I am generally against torture or capital punuishment so why d’ya reckon I make an allowance for Broon, Mandy and Balls?

    I think because I would cheerfully torture the fuckers to death myself. And do they deserve that fate. Oh, yes! In fucking spades.

  • Rger Clague

    I agree that focusing on the Brown-Mandelson feud is a distraction from the important changes. They are are ; Brown gets a stooge in Brussels, moving Hutton from the business ministry and separating energy from business.

    The best recent decision made by Liebour was made by John Hutton. That was to sell our nuclear power stations to France.

    Hutton is clever and a possible challenger to Brown, now at Defence he will be less able to shine.

    Separating energy from business is a significant change and a good idea. The business ministry is corrupted by government subsidies. Now possibly our energy crisis will get a more objective analysis.

    Linking energy and climate change is, or course, nonsense and therefore irrelevant. Except maybe so we can boost CO2 production to offset global cooling.

  • occasionalblogger

    It was necessary for Brown to bring Mandelson back as he need to show the country there was at least one person who can still get a

  • occasionalblogger

    Brown had to bring Mandelson back into Government as he needed to show the country there was at least one person who can still get a mortgage.

  • The main reason that Mandy has other labour politicos worried, IMO, is that he is a consummate player of the political game (that is not meant to be at all complimentary) and there’s no way they can match him.

  • Apologies. It is Ed Milipede who got “climate”. Not Comissar Balls.

    Anyway evey last one of the fucks ought to be publically diembowelled,

  • permanentexpat

    Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad

    I refer to the British electorate, of course.

  • RonB

    Surely the real story why did the EU let Mandelson leave?
    Is it a case of jumping or being pushed? The French President IMHO sacked him and Gordon gave him a peerage and a promise of a job. Lets see what that job turns out to be.

  • Gabriel

    Did you see the press-conference. Alisdair Darling was putting on his best soporific voice and in between blather about “changing not just our decisions but the way we make our decisions” (Sortes Virgilanae, perhaps?), he would chuck in some obscenely large figure that our broke government is spending on something or other related to the banking crisis.

    I couldn’t quite follow it – presumably the desired effect – so I was hoping the press would pick up on it. Nope, question after question about Mandelson. Who the chuff cares?

    I find myself nowadays seriously weighing up the pros and cons of joining the Montan Militia.

  • >The French President IMHO sacked him

    I don’t buy it. Sarkozy wouldn’t have been able to do it without the agreement of the Germans, and I can’t imagine Merkel would have gone along with it, mainly because the German government has some hard decisions to make, she knows it, and the presence of Mandleson in Brussels would probably make it easier to enforce them.

    I still buy the “Gordon Brown needs him to keep his party in line” position, the only question being whether the peerage is enough on its own to make Mandleson take it.

    I do hear in the media today that David Blunkett might be coming back too. That is definitely a step too far.

  • Crazy idea – you don’t think that Brown want s the EU job for himself, post election…?

  • Andrew Duffin

    A more pressing problem arising from this reshuffle is the replacement of the (almost sane) John Hutton with the (completely barking) Milliband at the Energy dept, or whatever it’s called this week.

    Expect delays to the nuclear power station programme, more useless subsidy/wind farms, more nonsense about global “warming”, and in due course, widespread failures of the electricity supply.

    The traitor Heath’s three-day week will seem a picnic by comparison.