Reaction is rolling in to Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US. A theme is emerging…
On the Today Programme former Foreign Office Permanent Under-Secretary and Chairman of Chatham House Simon Fraser praised Mandy’s links to the EU:
“Peter Mandelson is of course a committed pro-European, and he supports a better relationship between the UK and the EU, and balancing the EU relationship with the US relationship is going to be the biggest strategic foreign policy challenge so if you put all that together you know he’s a pretty well placed for the job.”
Fraser was also on staff to Mandelson when he was a trade commissioner. Amol Rajan pointed out correctly that his devotion to the bloc is obviously a major problem seeing as Trump and his aides loathe the EU. Ah, oops…
Elsewhere former ambassador to the US Kim Darroch told Newsnight that he thought it was a “good appointment.”
“I’ve been saying for a long time ever since the election outcome that I thought Peter Mandelson was the right man for the job and I’m glad that it’s been announced.”
We know what Darroch thinks about Trump, too, considering the embarrassing contents of his diplomatic cables were splattered all over the papers. The UK now has a pro-EU, China dove Ambassador in Trump’s Washington, what could go wrong?
Overheard by a co-conspirator in Parliament, minister Chris Bryant speaking to Tory MP Paul Holmes:
“You must be happy now that all the bastards are leaving.”