Just hours after Mandelson’s return had been reported, the Tories blasted out a document full of cutting remarks Mandelson had made about Brown. It was an impressively comprehensive list—there’s a lot of material to cover—but the Tories should cease and desist from this line of attack.
In his press conference, Brown was spinning the past disagreements between the two men to his advantage. Tony Blair used to say that if World War Three broke out Peter Mandelson would be the first person he would call, Brown’s message was that economic war has broken out and the situation is too serious for him to let the past differences between Brown and Mandelson get in the way of bringing him back into government.
If the Tories stress just how much the two men hate each other, Brown will look bigger and more mature for still being prepared to work with him.
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