We had gathered to discuss wine, but lesser topics intervened. During the Suez crisis, Clarissa Eden complained that it seemed as if the Suez Canal was running through her drawing room. Today, it is more a matter of the Strait of Hormuz, but that is an undeniably important matter.
No one could accuse Mandy of being a stainless character. But what you see is what you get
Other subjects which are receiving huge coverage have lesser claims on our attention. An American who had just flown in raised one of them. ‘What has this guy Mandelson actually done?’ Rem acu tetigisti.
There is a short answer. He has embarrassed the Prime Minister. But whose fault was that? On present evidence, Sir Keir himself stumbled into the embarrassment, since when he has been looking for buses to throw other men under in the hope of distracting attention from his own mistakes. Sir Stumbler has an extensive repertoire of angry self-pity. It is not an edifying spectacle.
Our small jury of glass drainers were all inclined to feel sympathy for poor old Mandy. He is a sulphurous fellow. No one could accuse him of being a stainless character. But what you see is what you get. He was sent to Washington because of his political skills – which he possesses in abundance. Apropos sulphur, he was also sent to form a rapprochement with Donald Trump: no easy posting.
Until the roof fell in, that seemed to be working. It should also be remembered that Peter had been a very good Northern Ireland secretary – a minefield assignment – and his footwork never failed. He was a more than useful business minister and an effective EU commissioner. Gordon Brown recalled him to the government in the hope of benefiting from his political skills, despite grounds for resentment. Early on, Peter had demonstrated his political nous by changing horses. It had been assumed that Mr Brown would come to lead the Labour party with Tony Blair as his acolyte. Mandy came to a different conclusion. He could spot electoral magnetism, so he joined the Blair stardust team.
I remember discussing the young Mandelson with Norman Tebbit, then Tory chairman. Peter and I had been colleagues on Weekend World, the Brian Walden programme. Norman phoned to ask if it was necessary to take him seriously. I have no wish to exaggerate my powers of prophecy. I did not say that within a decade, Peter and his friends would have transformed Labour into an election-winning outfit. But I did tell Norman that the new communications boss would equip his party better than since early in the Attlee government.
Anyway, Peter is a considerable political operator. In office, he has done some service to the state. As it happens, he is also good company. He does not deserve to be hosed down by the muck-spreader. Moreover, whatever immoralities Jeffrey Epstein committed in dealings with young girls – Mandy was innocent, OK.
In the political literature of the 1890s, you will encounter a phrase which had become a cliché: ‘So-and-so has the defects of his qualities.’ Poor Peter has the defects of his qualities, but we all knew that. If Sir Stumbler pretends otherwise, he will sound like Holy Willie’s Prayer, a character whom he often resembles. Leaving defects aside, who has more qualities, Mandy or Stumbler?
Our group then devoted itself exclusively to qualities, those of Château Talbot. A friend had come across a case of 2014. Being American, he feared it might be over the hill. We reassured him in advance and during drinking. It had matured beautifully. Some decades ago, the Château’s reputation had suffered. In recent years there has been a full recovery. We were delighted to glory in this flowering of Gascon civilisation.
Comments