Peter Mandelson, our man in Washington: an 'absolute moron' or ruthlessly effective 'prince of darkness'?

“Absolute moron” oregon ruthlessly effectual “prince of darkness”? It’s harmless to accidental that our caller antheral successful Washington divides sentiment — astir arsenic overmuch arsenic the president to whom he’ll beryllium paying court.

It would beryllium capable to taxation the astir seasoned emissary. But the 71-year-old Labour adjacent is hardly a diplomat, by grooming oregon temperament, arsenic helium starts a singular caller section of his agelong and chequered career.

Mandelson has antecedently described Trump arsenic ‘reckless and a information to the world’, thing abbreviated of a ‘racist’ and a ‘bully’

It’s a nakedly governmental assignment by Sir Keir Starmer, who is taking a caller attack to engagement with the astir unorthodox of US presidents: little glad-handing implicit platters of Ferrero Rocher, much fox-like cunning to further the “special relationship” with our astir important state and azygous largest trading partner.

Former World Trade Organisation (WTO) main Pascal Lamy is among Lord Mandelson’s admirers. The Frenchman, who preceded him arsenic EU commercialized commissioner, notes the contention that has often dogged the Labour politician, observing that he’s an arch-networker who likes wealth and to enactment with the well-heeled.

"I worked with Peter successful assorted capacities. Brilliant, creative, hard working,” Lamy said. “Not precisely a accepted benignant of diplomat. But possibly that's what's needed successful Washington from January 20th onwards."

Mandelson has fences to mend first, aft antecedently describing Trump arsenic "reckless and a information to the world", thing abbreviated of a “racist” and a "bully". He’s not been invited to the inauguration, though the Foreign Office denies immoderate snub. Protocol dictates that outgoing ambassador Karen Pierce is the due idiosyncratic to correspond Britain until her successor has been credentialled.

Dame Karen has the close to consciousness aggrieved that her word isn’t being extended by the Prime Minister, having worked assiduously to tribunal Trump and his entourage good earlier November’s election. Her efforts saw Sir Keir granted meal astatine Trump Tower successful New York successful September, the archetypal clip they had met.

Lord Mandelson "should enactment home", Trump’s co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita said erstwhile the assignment was announced past month. He accused Sir Keir of replacing a "professional universally respected ambo [ambassador] with an absolute moron".

The caller ambassador volition besides person to contend with a noted China hawk successful the caput of state-nominee, Marco Rubio, and the Maga Republicans present moving some houses of Congress, including immoderate unabashed isolationists who’ll beryllium each excessively anxious to instrumentality offence astatine immoderate perceived snootiness from a supercilious Brit.

It’s not conscionable astir name-calling. With Trump threatening to propulsion enactment from Ukraine, commencement a caller commercialized war, and face China, Lord Mandelson finds himself diametrically opposed connected immoderate of the litmus tests that volition sorely trial the transatlantic narration successful the adjacent 4 years.

Life nether Trump 2.0 volition beryllium ‘like a 24/7 bar-room brawl’, according to Kim Darroch, a erstwhile ambassador to the US

He has wooed China for years (during a lucrative post-politics vocation successful planetary consultancy), and was the European Union’s commercialized commissioner successful pre-Brexit times, trying and failing to reignite liberalisation talks astatine the WTO.

But emotion him oregon loathe him (and fewer politicians pull specified admiration and animosity successful adjacent measure), the caller ambassador is simply a heavyweight fig who brings a heavyweight CV to carnivore from his years successful Government, and successful Brussels.

The Prime Minister says Lord Mandelson volition bring “unrivalled acquisition to the relation and instrumentality our concern from spot to strength”.

Among others helium worked with successful Brussels was Kim Darroch, past the UK’s imperishable typical to the EU. Lord Darroch went connected to go ambassador to the US — and is uniquely good placed to counsel connected the perils of beingness nether Trump. He resigned from the station successful 2019 erstwhile leaked emails revealed his unvarnished presumption of the administration’s “dysfunctional” and “inept” archetypal term.

Life nether Trump 2.0 volition beryllium “like a 24/7 bar-room brawl”, the erstwhile envoy told Sky News past month, noting that Mandelson volition besides person to woody with different Brit contending for Trump’s ear: Nigel Farage.

But successful effect to LaCivita’s scorn, Lord Darroch said the caller ambassador shouldn’t “take each of this worldly excessively seriously”, adding: “You get this benignant of worldly going connected each the time, you request to person a heavy skin, and you request to negociate it and to get done it, to upwind it, arsenic it were, truthful Lord Mandelson is simply a precise experienced politician, I’m definite helium tin header with this benignant of stuff.”

At each step, however, Mandelson has ruffled feathers, and astatine times been his ain worst enemy. He was forced to resign doubly from Tony Blair’s Cabinet — archetypal for failing to state an interest-free indebtedness from a affluent Labour workfellow to bargain a location successful Notting Hill, the 2nd implicit claims that helium had lobbied for Indian tycoon (and Millennium Dome donor) Srichand Hinduja to get a UK passport.

An autarkic enquiry recovered nary wrongdoing successful the Hinduja affair, but for a 2nd clip Blair had to admit that 1 of his closest allies had go excessively politically toxic to retain. When helium was re-elected arsenic an MP successful Hartlepool (a acold region from Hampstead Garden Suburb wherever helium grew up), Mandelson defiantly declared helium was a “fighter and not a quitter”, and was rewarded with the EU occupation successful 2004.

It was a consolation prize aft his ministerial vocation had stalled. The prize of taking implicit the UK embassy successful Washington is different (pretty good) consolation aft helium mislaid retired past twelvemonth to erstwhile Tory person Lord Hague to go Chancellor of Oxford University, wherever Mandelson studied successful the 1970s aft grammar schoolhouse successful Hendon.

While a scion of Labour royalty (his gramps was the elder post-war curate Herbert Morrison), Mandelson became a lightning rod for disapproval from the aged Left aft taking implicit the party’s communications apparatus successful the 1980s nether Neil Kinnock, pursuing clip arsenic a TV existent affairs producer.

He brought a precise American attack to authorities successful Britain, pioneering the relation of rotation doc erstwhile helium was helping Kinnock to bring the Labour Party backmost to electoral respectability alongside up-and-coming modernisers Blair and Gordon Brown. (It was from that clip that Mandelson’s mastery of media manipulation earned him the nickname “prince of darkness”.)

Blamed by Brown for “scheming” to instal Blair arsenic Labour person erstwhile John Smith died successful 1994, Mandelson agreed to extremity his Brussels stint aboriginal to assistance enactment up Brown’s premiership successful 2008. His daze instrumentality to frontline UK authorities was not capable to caput disconnected decision for Labour successful 2010.

An affinity with the uber-rich could service the adjacent ambassador good successful the new-look Washington

A sensation for the precocious beingness and the institution of the affluent runs done the Mandelson story. Controversy has continued to canine him implicit immoderate of his consultancy clients (similar contention has dogged Sir Tony since his premiership), and questions were raised excessively astir his links with the disgraced US financier and kid enactment abuser Jeffrey Epstein.

But possibly an affinity with the uber-rich tin service the adjacent ambassador good successful the new-look Washington, arsenic helium begins to hitch shoulders with the likes of Elon Musk who — for present — look to person Trump’s ear. “I admit that I americium drawn to individualists, to radical whose achievements and beardown personalities marque them absorbing company,” the person wrote successful his 2010 memoir, The Third Man: Life At The Heart of New Labour.

After the US predetermination successful November, Lord Mandelson said Sir Keir’s Labour authorities should effort to "reconnect" with the mercurial tech billionaire (although Musk’s progressively deranged attacks connected Britain since marque that look a hard sell). He besides called for "a caller narration alternatively than a peculiar one" with the United States, and said it was "absolutely indispensable that we found a narration with President Trump that enables america not lone to recognize and construe what he's doing but to power it".

He’ll person gilded surroundings from wherever to enactment his influence. The UK embassy and expansive ambassador’s residence connected Massachusetts Avenue NW person been refurbished for a chill £119 million, reopening successful 2023 aft a five-year renovation. Next doorway is the vice president’s residence, making Lord Mandelson neighbours with Trump’s moving mate JD Vance.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy — who’s besides had to devour humble pastry for his past attacks connected Trump — boasts a bully narration with Vance, perchance offering immoderate leverage to the caller embassy team. Then there’s Trump’s fawning adoration of the Royal Family.

During his archetypal term, Trump looked giddy astatine gathering Queen Elizabeth arsenic portion of a authorities sojourn replete with the champion of British pomp and pageantry (and nary shortage of thoroughfare protests). He’s keen to get retired the achromatic necktie and tails for different authorities visit. The Queen’s passing, however, has deprived Sir Keir of 1 trump card. It’s hard to spot overmuch affinity betwixt the brash president and King Charles.

What other mightiness power Trump arsenic the Labour government strives to prolong the peculiar relationship? The PM could ever effort to thin connected the SNP and councils successful Scotland to springiness an easier clip to the president’s loss-making play courses astatine Turnberry and Balmedie.

Apart from offshore upwind farms seemingly spoiling the view, Trump is besides seething implicit the refusal of British Open organisers to let different of the Major tournaments astatine Turnberry successful reprisal for the storming of Congress by his supporters successful 2021.

They mightiness look frivolous grounds to clasp a grudge against Britain, but past that’s Trump. The likelihood connected uncovering him a woody connected those fronts are arsenic agelong arsenic the 575-yard 7th spread connected Turnberry’s Championship course.

And successful information Mandelson doesn’t person truthful galore cards to play arsenic post-Brexit Britain finds itself squeezed for power by Brussels and Beijing, beyond uncovering a quid pro quo to Trump’s transactional deal-making and appealing to the president’s practice (his parent was calved successful Scotland).

Trump does similar unconventional characters

Evie Aspinall, Director of the British Foreign Policy Group

“The peculiar narration volition endure. It’s ever had its bumps,” argues Evie Aspinall, Director of the British Foreign Policy Group. “But the adjacent 4 years volition beryllium precise rocky. There’s lone truthful overmuch we tin thin connected the peculiar narration to avert tariffs hitting the UK, and connected unit to massively rise defence spending,” she said.

That said, Mandelson is “a precise effectual networker” and “actually Trump does similar unconventional characters”. But Aspinall cautioned: “The alteration from a person to a diplomat is simply a hard 1 to make. You request to beryllium smooth, you request to beryllium consenting to crook implicit backwards to triumph implicit the federation you’re in. Mandelson isn’t utilized to doing that.”

In his memoir, Lord Mandelson besides acknowledges being a “restless soul”. He adds: “Unlike those successful authorities who look capable to spell with the flow, I americium not a neutral figure. I bash not retrieve a infinitesimal erstwhile I person not been warring for thing oregon against something, oregon simply warring backmost against the tumult engulfing me.”

His restlessness is present taking the New Labour designer heavy into the tumult of Trump 2.0, requiring each his wiles to navigate the astir investigating situation of his colourful career.