Saturday, October 25, 2008

Explains, refrains and underhand deals?

I always think, if you don't get to dish out the juice on a story first, it sometimes pays to hang fire and see what develops.

This is something that Newsvine have done with this story. Just click on the blog title and you'll see that they have looked a bit deeper into Lord Mandelson's role in all this he said, she said kerfuffle.

You know, the one regarding what George Osborne did or didn't say on Oleg Deripaska's junk off the coast of Corfu.
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I'm sure it's all very serious and worthy but surely there's more pressing things to be going on with one would have thought, with the world due to end because banks aren't as rich as they would hope and Sarah Palin dangerously close to the White House.

It seems it's a happy coincidence that Lord Mandelson (or Valdemort as Ian Hislop calls him) is back in situ and Tories start getting a kicking. Perhaps Mr Brown is a shrewder political animal than people give him credit for.

If Mandelson is stirring things up behind the scenes, what an irony after his own, previous double demise due to questionable personal finances (at least according to Whitehall rules).

Yet this could still blow up in the new business minister's face, as he was responsible for legislating on matters directly affecting Deripaska's businesses in his former role at the EU - whilst apparently enjoying a relaxing G&T on chez Deripaska sur la mer.

For the man who is closing in on Sinatra's record for comebacks, it may yet be another false dawn in an already colourful political career.

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