Peter Mandelson at Jewish Book Week

Above: after the talk Lord Mandelson signed copies of his new book.

Yesterday I went to a talk by Peter Mandelson at Jewish Book Week.

Didn't think I would actually get there since it was a busy day and I was running late, but I managed to scramble in just as the talk got going.

Darkened auditorium, floodlit stage, Peter Mandelson in brown jacket and black shirt (no tie) being interviewed by Nick Cohen.

Most interesting points he made were as a series of asides, talking about the ways in which the "centre ground" of British politics can be occupied.

He talked blithely about "the Blair, Brown, Mandelson era" as if he had been a Prime Minister himself. He told us "I am not an aspic person" (when discussing the legacy of New Labour). He candidly analysed "being in government is office politics writ large", creating a ripple of sympathy and recognition throughout the audience.

When someone said "now you are out of politics" he told us very deliberately "I'm NOT out of politics".

He talked with affection about his father (an enthusiast for the preservation of Hampstead Garden Suburb) and grandfather (a legacy of political cartoons in a Lambeth pub).

Asked by Nick Cohen about his Jewish background he said he was an atheist and didn't grow up in a Jewish culture. Asked if he had ever suffered anti-semitism he said that other people had analysed some of the things said about him, particularly by Polly Toynbee, as close to the negative way in which Jews are traditionally portrayed ("a cancer" etc). Asked if he is hurt by the personal attacks made against him his urbane style almost slipped, and he condemned with some feeling "the nasty tone... of insidious character assassination".

Although I have seen Lord Mandelson many times on the broadcast media, in person I had been unprepared for the empathy which he created, making a room filled with hundreds of people into an intimate occasion. I was also very impressed with the carefully crafted way in which he spoke, so that although he talked at a normal speed all his sentences were elegantly balanced and coherent (unlike the stuttering of Nick Cohen) which indicates a mind working at tremendous speed working out what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. An impressive performance.