Another Day Another Scandal

So you are invited by a Russian oligarch worth billions onto his beautiful £80m yacht moored in an idyllic setting off the cost of Corfu within sight of the holiday home of a well known wealthy banker with whom you went to University and as you arrive to take drinks you notice that Peter Mandelson lurks aboard also. At this point, should you have not made some polite excuses about a chicken in the oven and left sharply, knowing the track record of the man known amongst political circles as 'The Prince of Darkness'? Or, as with many politicians, do you stay and chat - after all there was no need to leave before the 'free lunch'?

'Omerta'

The old Mario Puzo books first alerted me to the Sicilian concept of 'omerta' - effectively silence amongst family, friends or associates, bought or not, no matter what heinous things you may know. Aboard that yacht, Nat Rothschild, a former University chum of George Osbourne clearly felt 'What goes on on Tour, stays on Tour' and was dashed upset when his old chum started ratting on 'The Prince' and suggesting his meeting aboard the Russian billionaire's, Oleg Deripaska, yacht had some hint of skulduggery. So upset indeed that Nat wrote a letter to The Times to point out that not only was Osbourne around but so too was the Tory fundraiser, Andrew Feldman, and whats more there was a blatant attempt to solicit a Tory Party donation from the Russian albeit via one his UK business concerns.

Ouch. The denials were 'robust' - that lovely political term that means anything but robust - and Osbourne answered the specific allegation. He was on dodgy grounds in denying everything but after all there is nothing wrong with a free lunch.

That was tantamount to calling Rothschild a liar and since we have had a cacophony of statements from Deripska, Rothschild, more drivel from Osbourne, suggestions that David Cameron was flown free of charge to Murdoch family parties, and EU statements that Peter Mandelson had met Deripaska only as far back as 2006 and of course after the EU's decision to ease import duties of Russian aluminium, for which Mandelson was cleared of any wrong doing as he had first met Deripsaka after the vote.

The Clanger

Ah, that is where there might have been a slight but 'understandable' misunderstanding as that EU statement came out when the now Lord Mandelson, formerly an EU Commissioner for Trade, was actually moving from Brussels to London (no don't mention the fact he will continue to draw his £200k+ salary as if he was still in Brussels hob-nobbing with billionaires and 'doing a good job' for 3 more years - and we pay for that) and was rushed in for an emergency medical procedure. So he could not have corrected the 'understandable' misunderstanding that he had first met Deripaska in 2006. You see, Lord Mandelson, as EU Trade Commissioner had indeed met Deripaska as far back as 2004.

Of course, that was before the crucial decision by the EU to ease those pesky aluminium duties on Russia. And Lord Mandelson was the EU Trade Commissioner at the time of that decision.

What? Are you suggesting that the EU thought that Lord Mandelson had not known Deripaska before that decision and therefore had somehow read his diary wrong or misinterpreted the dates he told them leading them to believe he could not have been 'influenced' by any 'free lunches' aboard yachts or otherwise and affect his powers of judgement in the matter of EU import duties regarding aluminium and Russia? Heavens above, no. Lord Mandelson has an exemplary record in such matters and 'always acts in the public interest'.

So what

I have no time for Osbourne and his puerile jibes - he got what you get if you also cavort with rich Russians who want to influence you. There are no such things as free lunches. The fact he was trying to open a sleazy theme about Mandelson is irrelevant - he was tarred with the same brush and rightly so by Nat Rothschild. He should fall on his sword and get lost - he would make a useless Chancellor anyway.

However, Lord Mandelson has been brought back from the EU with fat pay offs and salaries at the taxpayers' generosity to take a seat in Government the only way that was possible for a non-elected MP, and that was as a sitting peer in the House of Lords. A desperate move by a desperate man, Gordon Brown, has once again opened up the weeping wound of New Labour sleaze.

Denial - The Power Behind Politics

The Power of Denial, about which I have written before, is a huge force in politicians and business people. Lord Mandelson clearly sees it as no public matter that he met Oleg Deripaska in 2004 and in 2005 he was EU Trade Commissioner at the time of the decision to ease import tariffs on Russian aluminium - the very commodity with which Deripaska had made his considerable fortune. No doubt Lord Mandelson will squirm his way out of this mess as he always does, but the stink of corruption follows him whether justified or not. When it comes to bad judgement, George Osbourne is guilty. But take a look at the King of Bad Judgement, Gordon Brown. It was a huge gamble rehabilitating 'Lord' Mandelson to heal the Blairites - it has blown up in his face as it surely would.

Then again, like the financial mess we are in, there are many who would have told him that bringing back 'Lord' Mandelson and getting more dubious scandals was inevitable.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, particularly on the private yacht of a billionaire.