Pascal Lamy, the former World Trade Organization chief, has praised Mandelson as a “politician with an intellectual side, creative on the ideological level.”
He told Politico that Mandelson is “a rather remarkable personality who likes to be seen, who likes money, who likes parties, hence this sometimes sulfurous reputation that he has.”
“He works and communicates very very well,” Lamy added.
“He has an ego, let’s say, above the average, but hey, he has the intellectual means to afford that.”
A source close to the government told ITV News that Labour’s appointment of Mandelson shows how important the UK sees “our relationship with the Trump administration” with the former trade secretary having “unrivalled political experience”.
