Thursday, April 30, 2009

Is Mandelson Giving Up on Brown?

I only ask, because Mandy's famous sense of optimism and verve seem to have deserted him in recent times...


• A dismal week. “It is indeed turning into a bit of a week - it never rains but it pours, it seems.” (Today Programme, BBC Radio 4, 30 April 2009).

• Praying for New Labour. “…Peter Mandelson took a break from abolishing capitalism to address the country's top 200 mandarins at the civil service training centre in Sunningdale. Towards the end of a private session marked by jokes about Ed Balls and a prayer for the survival of New Labour, he was asked how Whitehall should prepare for the eventuality of a Conservative government. His answer was unequivocal: those present had a duty to embrace the Tories as soon as possible and make the transition a success.” (Ben Brogan, The Daily Telegraph, 30 April 2009).

• Running the next election campaign. “Oh no, I’m a bit past that. There's a younger generation who have a different take on politics and how we communicate.” (The Times, 25 April 2009).

• Political career is coming to an end. Asked about his own ambitions after the election, Mandelson said: “It depends on the result…I think time has run out for me.” (The Times, 25 April 2009).


Well you came and you gave without taking
but I sent you away, oh Mandy
well you kissed me and stopped me from shaking
I need you today, oh Mandy

I'm standing on the edge of time
I Walked away when love was mine
Caught up in a world of uphill climbing
The tears are in my mind
And nothing is rhyming, oh Mandy

Well you came and you gave without taking
but I sent you away, oh Mandy
well you kissed me and stopped me from shaking
And I need you today, oh Mandy
at

14 comments:

  1. HavocmanApril 30, 2009 4:11 pm

    The political demise of this odious little man cannnot come soo enough.

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  2. AnonymousApril 30, 2009 4:22 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. LizApril 30, 2009 4:31 pm

    Mandy makes me nervous when he starts acting out of character. As an unelected representative, can he go for the leadership? Because I wouldn't be in the least surprised to see him try.

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  4. Sen. C.R.O'BleneApril 30, 2009 4:31 pm

    I think I'd be a bit miffed if I was hoiked out of a lavishly paid job in Brussels, to help Brown self-destruct.

    Sounds like he's angling for a job somewhere deep in the city...

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  5. Pam NashApril 30, 2009 4:34 pm

    It's all academic - the Labour MPs have started a whipround for GB's farewell gift and, at the next election, they'll ALL be getting farewell gifts.

    Dodgy lyrics, Mr D, you seem to have a fondness for cheesy music! ;)

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  6. PlatoApril 30, 2009 4:36 pm

    Well, he's got his peerage and is back in the UK.

    Sounds like he's distancing himself from the car crash that is soon to be New Labour

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  7. Mirtha TidvilleApril 30, 2009 5:00 pm

    Mandelspoon is truely the oiliest of the oiks, and having come back from Brussels means he`s got his nose in the trough somewhere..Leave Politics???..dont think so

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  8. VerityApril 30, 2009 5:20 pm

    Only Iain would know all the words to a Barry Manilow song.

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  9. Liam ByrneApril 30, 2009 5:24 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. LexanderApril 30, 2009 5:48 pm

    I keep telling all of you: Mandelson knows he can make PM if he waits until the Tories have had an awful several years trying to undo the damage by this lot. He would fit the bill, no matter he is not the usual "married with a loyal wife" type of candidate.

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  11. AnonymousApril 30, 2009 6:56 pm

    Brown just given a pathetic weak ride by SKY in an interview about expenses. And its reporter amazingly trying to apologise for the PM afterwards.

    You would never guess that Brown had to withdraw the central plank of his policy - ie an attendance allowance. Not sure there was any opposition to any other measures. Plus he has had to bow to the Committee of Standards instead of bypassing it.

    Browns semantics were tantamount to barefaced lies and the SKY reporter was so thick he did not recognise it.

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  12. AnonymousApril 30, 2009 7:14 pm

    Lex ...

    I will eat my own liver if Mandy ever becomes Prime Minister.

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  13. Mirtha TidvilleApril 30, 2009 7:16 pm

    Just been interviewed on Channel 4 news and well skewered....The man just wouldnt give up and kept at him...Brown was rattled, expected his Nokia to go flying...........

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  14. UnsworthApril 30, 2009 8:21 pm

    'Giving up' is not what the odious Mandelson is doing. He's carefully distancing himself from a man who may damage his own upward motion.

    Never offer a hand to a drowning man - unless you are certain you can save both him and yourself.

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