The Tories must remember Mandelson is mortal

It is hard to disagree with Martin Kettle’s assertion that Peter Mandelson is the “most interesting” figure in British politics right now. Since his return from Brussels, Mandelson has had a key role to play in every major political story and has revelled in the quite extraordinary amount of coverage he has received. As Kettle—who interviewed Mandelson for an hour or so at Saturday’s Progress conference—notes, Mandelson is now a far more intellectually confident figure than he was in 1997.

Much of Mandelson’s success has stemmed from the fact that the Tories are so intimidated by him; they talk about him in hushed tones. They are convinced that everything Mandelson does must have some hidden genius to it. So when Mandelson’s floating of the idea of Britain joining the Euro sees the subject re-enter the political debate via a Barroso speech, the Tories rather than capitalising on this error spend their time wondering where the trap is.