Mandelson interview
‘All of this makes him powerful – but none of it matters quite as much as one simple fact. Mandelson has acquired all this power by virtue of not wanting to be prime minister. As his great friend Robert Harris put it recently, “He thought it was all over and now he sees every day as a bonus.” He never expected to be here, so he has everything to play for – and crucially, nothing to lose.’ – Peter Mandelson talks to Decca Aitkenhead, The Guardian
‘Turning the Labour party round from its impassioned but suicidal “purification” debates of the late 1970s – rescuing it from what he understood to be historic decline – required a repositioning that was not going to be volunteered by some existing Labour activists. Along with Neil Kinnock, Mandelson was the key player in the long campaign to make Labour palatable to the post-Thatcher middle classes. It is possible – with Mandelson, it sometimes seems anything is possible – that we are now about to meet a man of ideology. There have been recent nods to tunes from the old Labour hymnal in his attack on universities’ admissions policies and his talk of industrial activism. Admirers would say that this is the real Mandelson.’ – Editorial, The Guardian
‘Lord Mandelson assumes control of the day-to-day running of the country today, three days after finding himself the Prime Minister’s stand-in while on holiday in Corfu, where he was a guest of the Rothschild banking family.’ – Suzy Jagger and Francis Elliott, The Times
A transformed House of Commons?
‘Parliamentary life will change greatly in 2010. The next election is likely to see the biggest shift in the composition of the House of Commons since the Labour landslide of 1997, perhaps since the postwar Labour landslide of 1945. The next Parliament will not be easy for the Whips.’ – William Rees-Mogg, The Times
Food security
‘A ‘radical rethink’ of how the UK produces and consumes food is needed, the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, has warned.
He was speaking at the launch of the government’s assessment of the threats to the security of what we eat.’ – BBC
German election
‘Angela Merkel, Germany’s Christian Democrat Chancellor, has been locked in uneasy coalition with her Social Democratic rivals for four years. Together, the country’s two largest parties have steered Germany through some of the stormiest economic conditions it has faced since the founding of the Federal Republic. Political debate, however, has been muted. A grand coalition (only the second in Germany’s postwar history) forces political opponents to muffle their differences. Next month, all that will change. The general election on September 27 will pitch Ms Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) against Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Social Democrats (SPD). For both, it will be a liberation and a chance to seize power for themselves. All the signs are that Ms Merkel will win.’ – Leader, The Times