The World

I was astonished to see Peter Mandelson appointed to the cabinet by Gordon Brown this morning. Mandelson’s views on Brown are, by his own account, unprintable. When I interviewed him in Brussels about 18 months ago – just before Brown became prime minister, this is what Mandy had to say:

“Given the schism that was created between us in 1994 when Blair became leader, if I said something nice about Gordon Brown, you wouldn’t believe it. And if I said something nasty, you would just think it was a grudge. So it’s better just to say nothing.”

So what might have drawn the two men back together again? Desperation, frankly. Mandelson is desperate to get out of Brussels, which he finds boring and depressing. And given the failure of the Doha round, his job as EU trade commissioner is increasingly pointless.

And Brown is desperate to dig himself out of the political hole that he finds himself in. Mandelson has a reputation for being devious and self-destructive – but he is also an interesting figure, who attracts headlines, at a time when the rest of the cabinet looks colourless and boring. Above all, he is regarded as a brilliant political tactician and electoral strategist. And Brown needs all the help he can get.

So maybe one shouldn’t be surprised by this reconciliation, after all. As Mandelson said in my interview with him: “Who knows what might happen in politics. I’ve got used to the unexpected happening in my own career.”