Anthony Barnett (London, OK): I have a feeling that the Deripaska affair could lead to a political crash that interlinks with the financial crash. There is a bubble element to the Corfu gathering and its ill-gotten billions with journalists afraid of saying what they suspect about our Russian friend for fear of being shot or chemically disposed of. The BBC insists that the actual story concerns the specific allegations against George Osborne while the Mail says that the Beeb is covering up for Mand. I suspect that Charles Moore in the Spectator gets the larger point.
Why is it so important for Mr Rothschild to divert attention from Lord Mandelson? It must surely have something to do with Mr Deripaska, for whom Mr Rothschild works, and to whom, before everything went wrong, he introduced Mr Osborne four times in three days. It must matter very much indeed to Mr Deripaska that his dealings with Lord Mandelson are not pursued, and Mr Rothschild must be so devoted to keeping in with Mr Deripaska that he feels it necessary to fall out with someone who may well be the next Chancellor of the Exchequer. What is at stake for the Russian, the Rothschild and our new Business Minister? It feels as if it must be a great deal.
Or at least one aspect of it. I'm looking forward to Peter Oborne's reflections, after all could there be a more enjoyable example of a political class in action - with the Murdoch print and TV media, Eurocrats, party funders, hedge-funders galivanting together in a honeypot atmosphere with the promise of more goodies to come? An essential part of the argument in Peter's book being that there is a political class that is also a reincarnation of the old corruption.
The scoundrels are all in it together. But there is one twist not commented on so far. The Tory Party made a wager on Cameron because he was from the gilded class and because he had the polish and attraction of Blair in the era when globalisation was sweeping all before it. His opponent was, of course, David Davis who seemed much less glamorous and fashionable. But what a difference it could have made now if DD's duller but gritty integrity was the defining material of Tory opposition to Mandelson and Brown.
