Will Peter Mandelson’s ambassadorial dreams be dashed? (Image: Getty)
The appointment of Peter Mandelson as our ambassador to Washington, the crown jewel of British overseas diplomatic postings, was either a stroke of genius or a monumental howler.
You see, it all depends on how you feel about it, Possums. What do you make of the Two-Tier ‘s opening gambit on this one?
Today, any jousting playing out on the international geopolitical chess board will temporarily cease as is once again anointed President of the United States.
For the record, Trump has invited several world leaders to the inauguration events in Washington, although it has been well noted that Two-Tier isn’t one of them.
Several weeks ago, two staunchly labour luminaries headed to Washington. Morgan McSweeney and Jonathan Powell went to the US to schmooze Susie Wiles and Mike Walz, who are Trump’s picks for White House Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser.
The logic of this shuttle diplomatic move, on the face of it at least, would seem to make some sense since it is tantamount to what could be described as current/former and complimentary counterparty interface.
McSweeney is chief of staff to Two-Tier and Powelln was chief of staff to Blair and now heads the UK NSA etc. etc. etc. You get the idea!
Over the weekend speculation has been mounting that the incoming administration might refuse to accept Mandy as the British ambassador to the US, the stated reason being because of his links to China.
Furthermore, he is also on record as having previously described Trump, amongst other things, “as a danger to the world and little short of a white nationalist”.
A top campaign adviser to the US President (elect), Chris LaCivita, criticised the British government’s decision saying it was replacing a “professional universally respected ambo [ambassador] with an absolute moron”.
It’s hard in some ways to fault that for accuracy, isn’t it?
Notwithstanding Mandelson’s remarkable intellect though, it will nonetheless be challenging for him to build any bridges, never mind trust, with Trump and his team.
Mandelson has even gone so far as to state publicly that it will be necessary for him to enlist the assistance of both and in forging any meaningful relationship with Trump.
This then begs the question as to what would motivate either Farage or Musk to give Mandelson the time of day, let alone any help in dealing with the Donald or any of his team for that matter.
And even if they do then there will be an extremely hefty political price tag attached to it; the hostility towards Two-Tier shown by Messrs Farage and Musk is simply very well-known publicly.
Farage did, however, relent recently by offering Mandy and the government his assistance in facilitating a productive dialogue with the incoming Trump administration if called upon.
There might, however, also be a clue in a remark Mandy made recently about his Washington agenda. He apparently stated that… “Britain must find a path between the US and the EU if Mr Trump pushes ahead with a blanket tariff on imports.
We have got to navigate our way through this and have, I’m afraid, the best of both worlds. We have got to find a way to have our cake and eat it.” A tall order, given the Trumpian aversion to the EU and any pro-China lobby, too, as your starter for ten.
On the face of it, Mandy’s dream of taking up the post, for which he has expended so much time and energy, and indeed lobbied hard, seems doomed to failure.
I even heard that Number 10 tried to spin this appointment as a “compliment” to the incoming administration.
Yes, that’s right, Possums, you read correctly. A “compliment” by sending such a prominent Labour hack of yesteryear to Washington as our ambassador.
Might it then not be construed as more of an insult? You be the judge based on your opinion of Trump’s possible contempt for this notion.
So, in summary, Two-Tier has several landmines to swerve.
The Chagos Archipelago fiasco and more specifically Diego Garcia; the matter of one hundred Labour Party activists descending on America last year to lobby for in “battleground states” during the recent US presidential election campaign; our commitment to a higher defence spending as a percentage of GDP; the clear intention of this Labour government to draw closer to the EU and hamstring our trade independence with their overzealous regulation and subordination to the ECJ too as a direct result.
All these things represent potentially serious head winds to government ambitions of forging a trade alliance with the US solely built on “unbreakable” historic ties.
Naivety and miscalculation are part of the deluded view that Mandy and Two-Tier seem to have if they both seriously believe we can “have our cake and eat it” as Mandy put it.
But then let’s see whether Trump vetoes the British ambassadorial appointment whence once again seated behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office from later today.
It’s all an intriguing prospect, isn’t it?
Or, now, here’s a thought, could it be Trump might perhaps see Mandy as a useful idiot to drive his administration’s European policies through 10 Downing Street, forcing Two-Tier to bend to his will and keep the EU wrong footed.
The EU treatment of and disdain for large American multinationals is well known to enrage Trump, lest we forget.
But it will all depend on whether he dislikes the EU more than he despises the socialists in Government here in this country; the lesser of two evils and all that.
Trump is set to sign one hundred executive orders on his first day back in office. Could it be sending Mandy’s appointment to the bin is also on his agenda? We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?
If Mandy gets binned then any speculation disappears in a puff of smoke, then it goes back to the drawing board. Welcome to the unpredictable world of the unknown in Trump Part 2, playing at a cinema near you from today!