There’s a sense this weekend that the media hurricane has moved on from George Osborne – leaving him bruised and bloodied, but unbowed – and is now bearing down on Peter Mandelson. Sure, the Tories are still experiencing some turbulence: a story about how they should repay a loan from the Rothschilds, as well as some ex post facto analysis by the Sunday columnists. But after his letter to the Times yesterday, the Key New Revelations are all about Lord Mandy. And the questions being flung at him, about his links with Oleg Deripaska, are the more difficult to answer.
The hope in Downing Street will be that the calls for Mandelson to be investigated aren’t followed up by the various watchdogs and authorities concerned: the contrast with the Electoral Commission’s refusal to investigate Osborne would be damning. Yet, so far, there’s nothing to suggest that Mandelson will have to resign, just as there’s been nothing to suggest that Osborne will have to resign. With this scandal, all rests on what emerges next. Watch this space.
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