Ken love bombs Mandy

Ken Clarke talking about Lord Mandelson in today’s FT.

KC: I think he adds to the quality of the government. He’s their best departmental minister and he’s a man of considerable skill and ability. He has engineered himself into quite an extraordinary role inside the whole set-up. I think apart from him it wouldn’t be a government at all. He is my political opponent but he’s a tremendous political operator.

He’s a brilliant strategic analyst and he’s a great one at laying political plans. And he’s obviously brought the present government together and kept Brown in office. I’m not going to speculate as to exactly why I think he’s doing it, you always have to ask why he’s doing it, but it was pretty brilliantly done. We would have had a different Prime Minister by now.

FT: Do you see any signs that all the good publicity might be going to his head slightly?

KC: Well, all politicians are vain and, Peter, shall we say, is not immune from that weakness.