Mr. Swift examines the apparently irresistible rise of Lord (Peter) Mandelson as he jets off to be ambassador to the United States
Swift recalls it was once said of the egregious journalist/interviewer and social climber, David Frost (no relation to the present excellent peer), that ‘he rose without trace’.
Today, dear readers, we have our own version, Lord Mandelson. Peter – let us be familiar here – Mandelson has the kind of grip that clings to the greasy political and bureaucratic pole like a poisonous lizard clambering up some tropical tree trunk.
So far as Swift can ascertain, Peter has not really accomplished anything, beyond being a public relations adviser to Gordon Brown and thence Tony Blair. Brown being thought by dear Peter to be too dull, he switched to the photogenic Blair, whose resemblance to one of those male models that used to adorn the outside of knitting patterns (younger readers please consult the internet) made him more electable. Peter delivered.
In the meantime, clever Peter had secured the seat of Hartlepool (roughly the equivalent of Gucci moving its HQ to Minsk), and although there were one or two little local difficulties resulting in one or two little ethical resignations from time to time, he ended up as a Cabinet member on multiple occasions, a peer, a European Commissioner, and now he will be the British ambassador to Washington. How wondrous is that!
Swift has neither time nor inclination to subject his readers to the highways and byways oif the Mandelson career in further detail. Suffice it to say that nothing has been earned, nothing struggled for (his family is a mix of wealth and Labour connections), and nothing achieved that might connect him to the life of the ordinary folk of England.
He is, in short, an exemplar of Davos Man. Rootless, careless, feckless, and (of course) egotistical and rich.
Unfortunately for proud Peter, the MAGA mafiosi who act for the Trump campaign don’t seem too wowed. Indeed, one of them (a quite significant figure called Chris LaCivita) described lovely Peter as a ‘moron’. This is unfair. Peter is not a moron. Yes, he is no intellectual. Nor is he the modern Machiavelli (the sobriquet ‘Prince of Darkness’ he once enjoyed in his spinning days is simply risible, and Swift is quite convinced he made it up himself). He’s just a PR guy who got lucky.
Oh my days.