The Dark Lord Returns

As if things were not bad enough in the front lines of business right now, it's really heart-warming to know that decisions affecting businesses are being taken in High Government with the view that British business people are 'Incapable of success'.

Furious MPs

In the article in today's Daily Mail, it appears Lord Mandelson (doesn't it make you wretch when you say it, must be the syllables) thinks British Bosses are incapable of running successful businesses. The remark was wildly taken as an insult when it was made at a private meeting of Labour MPs at Westminster last week as Mandelson outlined his really poor plans for the partial privatisation of Royal Mail. The context of the remark was that as part of Royal Mail was being virtually given away to Dutch company, TNT, and Dutch managers from this TNT would likely flood the Royal Mail as British Managers were not capable of turning a public sector business into a success.

Two Labour MPS were so incensed by the remarks that they went public on this, one being Colin Burgon, MP for Elmet, Leeds.

Is He Right?

On the face of it, if he was referring to the fat-salaried Adam Crozier and the company hopping Allan Leighton, he may have a point. But of course, this was specialised, heavyweight business acumen bought in by previous Labour Ministers under the policy you have to pay blindingly high salaries to Non-Executives like Leighton to get the right calibre just like the heads of the watchdogs. If that is Mandelson's point, I couldn't agree more.

However, I suspect The Dark Lord has been hobnobbing too much in the corridors of power in Europe where there is an altogether more liberal and creative approach to business where Russian Aluminium Tycoons can entertain you on £80m yachts and you can deny having met them before crucial EU votes on tariffs on the said element, this accidentally lining the Oligarch's pocket more. That's the kind of success he likes - that and nice brothers contributing towards worthless edifices in return for the odd passport.

He Has No Right

The fact is Lord Mandelson is an unelected bureaucrat. He has zero experience of running a company and twice in his career he couldn't keep his job as a Minister because he operates too close to the wire. If that would be his mode of operation in real business, it's likely his career would have been short lived and he ended up the wrong side of the law.

The point was raised in the IOD Discussion Forum in LinkedIn today and rightly it has received a barrage of criticism from angry UK bosses. If he had run successful businesses he would have the right to say such things but he has never done so. Now, he sachets along the corridors of power, wielding the magic wand of power that could dictate the future business health of this nation, I am certainly pretty disgusted he can get away with such comments and am pretty under confident he knows what is best for British business. Brown must have been a very desperate man to have brought him back - I hope he is regretting it.

If Mandelson doesn't like Britain, why not hop off back to the EC and earn the fat salary he's getting paid from them anyway (yes he is on a 3 year full salary compensation deal while drawing an Minister's salary too. Like that really happens in business).