A coincidence?

Strange that two days before his return,the New Statesman publishes an interview with Peter Mandleson.(It's intro now suitably updated),it is worth a read.)

I had confined it to my delicious links-meaning to blog about but have been busy so never got around to it).

The Interview was done during the party conference last week and opens with Mandleson's comments

"I think if the party were to be taken over by those who want to reject new Labour, reject what the party has done over the past decade and all its achievements - we would be inviting a very long time in opposition."

Here are some other snippets,apparently

Since May, Mandelson has been talking again to his old rival Gordon Brown, and not just about the Doha round of trade talks that have dominated his role as Commissioner for External Trade in recent months. "It would be odd if we didn't discuss domestic issues," he says. "We have a shared interest in Labour's fortunes

and

Mandelson warns Brown not to be swayed by such voices. "When I listen to some of the trade union leaders and others who are organising hard on the left of the party, demanding renationalisation and an end to new Labour, sneering at the so-called Blairites, I realise there are still those who prefer the comfort of opposition to the hard tasks of government.

So has Mandleson been brought in as a buffer to stop a swing to the left? Will it work or will it backfire and cause a move behind a left wing figure(John Cruddas prhaps who though mentioned in despatches has not been brought in)