Thursday, January 08, 2026

Mandelson Accuses European Leaders of ‘Histrionic’ Reaction to Trump’s Greenland Stance

THE GUARDIAN: Article by former British ambassador to US is likely to be seen as criticism of Keir Starmer

Peter Mandelson has accused European leaders including Keir Starmer of a “histrionic” reaction to Donald Trump’s plan to take over Greenland, arguing that without “hard power and hard cash” they will continue to slide into unimportance in the “age of Trump”.

In his first political comments since being sacked as Britain’s ambassador to Washington last year, Lord Mandelson said Trump had achieved “more in a day than orthodox diplomacy was able to achieve in the past decade” when he captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro.

The intervention is likely to be seen as a criticism of the British prime minister, who has attempted to walk a diplomatic tightrope since the US captured Maduro. This week he signed a statement calling on the US president to respect Danish sovereignty over Greenland after a White House statement said the US was looking into “a range of options” in an effort to acquire Greenland, adding that using the US military to do so was “always an option”. » | Alexandra Topping, Political correspondent | Thursday, January 8, 2026

A ridiculous comment made by a ridiculous man. Even Mandelson must know he is being ridiculous; so, we need to follow the money. — © Mark Alexander