Mandelson’s fixation with bananas repays study: it shows that he has not really changed
Bananas on the mind. It’s Mandelson’s fault. There I was at the weekend, reading an interview with him in the Times. This was the new Mandelson, Lord Mandelson, the one who longs to go on Strictly Come Dancing, and only wears those soft cashmere jumpers, you can tell, to boost the impression that he could give you a kindly and wonderful hug. It was working. I was warming to the man. And then bananas. Bananas everywhere.
How did Gordon Brown lure him back into government? ‘We sat down,’ he told the newspaper, ‘over a couple of sandwiches, a yogurt and a banana. I should have seen the telltale signs they were trying to corrupt me.’
Corrupt him? Peter Mandelson? With sandwiches, yogurt and a banana? You’d think you’d need something grander. A house, maybe. But still, at that point my thoughts remained idle.
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