When historians write the definitive biography of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the character of Peter Mandelson will prove a hard one to portray to those who were not around. Mandy, as he was semi-affectionately known, has undergone one of the most bizarre and humiliating journeys in British public life. Once, he was the all-powerful, Machiavellian ‘Prince of Darkness’ who served under both the Blair and Brown governments. Now, he is nothing more than a diminished, pitiful figure who has resigned from the Labour party that he did so much to rebuild electorally, as a result of his ill-advised and reputationally catastrophic association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson’s statement was more graceful than his more defiant public pronouncements in the past
Mandelson’s political savvy is the reason why three different prime ministers, including Sir Keir Starmer, have drawn upon his skills – and why he has acted as an informal consigliere to others, not least George Osborne. It was after a visit to Osborne’s London house last year that Mandy was photographed urinating in the street, but that embarrassing news story is nothing compared to the latest tranche of Epstein revelations.
Filed related to the paedophile financier suggest that Mandy may have received $75,000 from Epstein and also lobbied against a tax on British bankers’ bonuses. Mandelson says he has no record of the payments. Documents released by the US Department of Justice in recent days suggest that Epstein also sent £10,000 to Peter Mandelson’s partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva in 2009. Mandelson did not comment on this report and there is no suggestion Da Silva was involved in any wrongdoing. But what seems all too clear is that Mandelson’s Achilles heel – his love of associating with powerful, wealthy men – has led to his final downfall.
Mandelson’s statement last night was more graceful than some of his more defiant public pronouncements in the past. (Who can forget his Gloria Gaynor-esque statement in 2001 that “I’m a fighter, not a quitter”?) He declared that “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this. Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me.” Even allowing for the conditionals attached, he knew that the game was up, and so announced that: “While doing this I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labour party and I am therefore stepping down from membership of the party.”
Mandelson was right to use a phrase that the other embattled Epstein veteran Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor seems to have been unable to utter: “I want to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now”. But given that the one-time master of the dark arts is no longer seen in the House of Lords, his resignation from Labour means that, at the age of 72, Mandelson has now effectively quit public life.
No doubt a man of his intelligence and contacts will find various lucrative consultancies and business ventures to distract him. Undoubtedly there will be those who are sympathetic to the semi-disgraced politician who will rally round in support. Yet it is inconceivable that Mandelson will have any chance of making an unprecedented fourth political comeback in the future. His previous falls came about through poor judgement and a love of conspicuous wealth, but he was still able to retain some semblance of dignity in the process. Now, with a compromising photo of Mandy in his underwear coming into the public domain, a man who once struck fear into the heart of politicians and journalists now looks ridiculous, even laughable.
There may or may not be further humiliations yet to come for the former ambassador to Washington, but whatever now happens, Mandelson is not so much a diminished figure as a finished one. He will know, as he begins the trudge into obscurity that is the punishment of every disgraced politician, that his future reputation will not be as the brilliant, visionary manipulator and spin doctor he once was, but as a pathetic failure, ultimately brought down by the Epstein scandal. It is a harsh epitaph on him, but, on balance, perhaps the one that he deserved all along.
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