Why the appointment of Peter Mandelson is a big mistake

Donald Trump's campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, did not mince his words upon learning that Peter Mandelson had been appointed British ambassador to the United States. Mandelson is becoming a complete idiot, he says. Even if one could have chosen an alternative rhetorical style, it is undeniable that Mandelson's nomination at this particular moment in history is deeply problematic: it is emblematic of a Labor Party disconnected from reality, incapable of to set aside ideological misfortunes which made him unpopular. in such a short time. The Starmer government's decision to send this Blair disciple to Washington is extraordinary, at a time when the Trump administration is about to take off.

To add insult to injury, Mandelson has openly insulted Trump on numerous occasions, calling him everything from a danger to the world to falling short of being a white nationalist and racist. For a man supposed to represent the UK's interests in Washington, these kinds of remarks are diplomatically catastrophic.

Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the United States is an ill-advised diplomatic misstep

The Trump administration is known for being unpredictable, but it's hard to imagine that it would warmly welcome a figure who has shown such disdain and disrespect for the president. Even though Mandelson tried to walk back his comments, Team Trump is already well aware of the offenses. No amount of disingenuous effort can erase the fact that Mandelson has spent years publicly castigating Trump's leadership as a mortal sin for the role he is about to assume.

If anyone doubts this, remember the fate of former UK Ambassador to the US Kim Darroch, whose embarrassing emails were released in 2019 describing the Trump administration as dysfunctional, incompetent and divided . Darroch also questioned whether the Trump White House would ever appear competent and called Trump's policies on sensitive issues like Iran inconsistent and chaotic.

These leaked communications led to a diplomatic row between the United Kingdom and the United States. President Trump responded by saying his administration would no longer work with the ambassador. Following the controversy, Darroch resigned from his position, stating that it had become impossible for him to continue in office. This is an atrocious precedent for Mandelson, even before he set foot in Washington.

Mandelson is a seasoned political professional, that’s undeniable. He has extensive experience in political maneuvering, both in Britain and in Brussels. As a former European commissioner, he built a reputation as a competent negotiator, an operator who understands how to play the game.

But for all of Mandelson's expertise in the world of behind-the-scenes politics, his ideological convictions and undisciplined commentary make him incredibly adept at showing respect and engaging productively in Trump's America. An avowed anti-Brexite and passionate supporter of the European Union and its globalist agenda, Mandelson's views are diametrically opposed to Trump's country-first philosophy. While Trump enthusiastically defended Brexit as a victory for national sovereignty, Mandelson sees it as a grave mistake. Mandelson’s worldview is anathema to Trump and his supporters.

In Mandelson's world, organizations like the EU play a central role. In Trump's world, it's maverick entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy or other disruptors like Nigel Farage or Javier Milei who take center stage in politics. Musk and Farage are the new golden boys of this new world order. Mired in multilateralism, Mandelson will likely be a trusted outsider.

This tension between these two visions is at the heart of why Mandelson's nomination is so ill-conceived. His appointment smacks of progressive deafness, the conviction that the same old political actors, the Blairite elite, can continue to pull the strings, even if the political landscape has changed tectonically. Thank goodness for Nigel Farage, because it is he, rather than Starmer's ambassador, who may well be the force preventing the UK from drifting away from a new Trumpian consensus, both domestically and at home. the foreigner.

In short, Mandelson's appointment as ambassador to the United States is not only an ill-advised diplomatic misstep; it is a direct confrontation with the realities of a post-Brexit and post-Trump world. It shows that Britain's Labour-led government is still clinging to a hackneyed view that has already been soundly rejected by large swathes of the electorate. It is hard to imagine that Trump's America, with its own contempt for globalist elites, will be accommodating to the prince of darkness.

Even though Mandelson and Starmer understood reality, the world has moved on. The days when Blairite technocrats took the lead are over. If this Labor government is to build a meaningful relationship with the United States in the years to come, it needs a different type of ambassador, one capable of operating in Trump's world, not one who lives again in that of Tony Blair.