This is an interesting post on the Guardian's politics blog:
At last night's parliamentary Labour party meeting, Mandelson is said to have stunned activist MPs by predicting a future Labour victory and claiming to see "light at the end of the tunnel" over the recession.
The mildest reaction from colleagues was "complacent". Others preferred to use other C and F words which would not normally grace a national newspaper report. Even ministers who were not there say they have received reports that he went down badly.
Others – who are not his natural friends – says this is a bit of an exaggeration. They say that he was unusually unimpressive and pretty bland, dodging contentious issues like the part-privatisation of the Royal Mail. They feel he might have wanted to say it was all going to be all right but couldn't quite get there.
I guess being in the Lords isolates one rather from mixing with people on the ground suffering in a recession. The lad needs to get out more.
Moreover he is obviously getting very frustrated that he cannot control the media agenda and the outpourings of Mr & Mrs Balls. There is no doubt much tension behind the scenes on Labour’s spin operation. Are we on the way to another bust up?
Yes. Mandy is like a scorpion clinging to the proverbial fox' swimming across the river. He will sting his own host, even if that means certain death.
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