[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Peter_Mandelson_6497.jpeg]]

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson]], [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Baron Mandelson]] (of Foy in the County of Herefordshire and of Hartlepool in the County of Durham) [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever PC]]. Known as The Prince of Darkness, The Dark Lord, The Dark Prince, [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Mandelson]] … [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and]] [[FluffyTheTerrible Mandy]]. While working hidden behind the scenes, he was largely responsible for his (previously losing) party's {{landslide|Election}} victory in 1997, updating its image to appeal to the electorate, and covertly running the campaign from a "tiny office with a three-legged chair, propped up by books". He actually began his involvement at the top level of Labour politics in 1985, during the leadership of Neil Kinnock, but today everyone tends to think about him for what he did during the New Labour era, and ''always'' either for better or for worse.

During the period when New Labour was in power under UsefulNotes/TonyBlair and more briefly UsefulNotes/GordonBrown, he always manoeuvred himself into positions of massive influence, simply by '''not''' wanting to have the top job. He was forced to resign twice for scandals that he was embroiled in (at least one of Mandelson's colleagues has said that he lost his judgment whenever "in the presence of rich men"), but [[VetinariJobSecurity he was such a useful figure that he ended up coming back]].

The second time he resigned, he became among the most powerful men in the EU Commission. When his tenure came to an end, the government brought him back to Britain yet again, and he ran the country behind the scenes, collecting titles and government departments to add to his power. The position he held meant nobody could question his political actions unless he allowed them.

His last title while in government was [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard The Right Honourable the Baron Mandelson of Foy in the County of Herefordshire and of Hartlepool in the County of Durham, First Secretary of State, Lord President of the Privy Council and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills]]. This led to Creator/FrankieBoyle's memorable remark: "Who made him a Lord, the Sith?!"

He took a seat in the Lords basically because everyone realised that not even Labour's safest constituencies could be relied upon to elect him. Even after his party's eventual ''third-term defeat'' in 2010, people are still whispering rumours of his comeback, such is the power of the myth behind the man. And indeed, it was reported in 2021 that he had been appointed to advise Keir Starmer and the Shadow Cabinet on how to win the support of Big Business, in effect re-creating the New Labour coalition.

As of his latest return to government, before the 2010 election, a member of the [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem House of Lords]].

Along with the more overtly belligerent Creator/AlastairCampbell (a later addition to the team), one of New Labour's most prominent spin doctors. Like UsefulNotes/BorisJohnson, whom he otherwise does not much resemble, a prime example of RealityIsUnrealistic. Interestingly, Mandelson is also the grandson of Herbert Morrison, a prominent Labour politician who served in UsefulNotes/RamsayMacDonald's National Government in the 1930s, UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill's [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII War]] Government of the 1940s, and UsefulNotes/ClementAttlee's Post-War Government.

!Examples of Peter Mandelson in fiction:

* Arguably, his memoir ''The Third Man'' in which he manages to write nearly 800 pages about the Blair years without once using the phrase "in the national interest".
* ''Film/TheDeal2003'', a dramatisation of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair%E2%80%93Brown_deal the deal between Blair and Brown]] that unofficially gave birth to New Labour. Creator/PaulRhys plays Mandelson.
* ''Mo'', the Mo Mowlam {{biopic}} starring Creator/JulieWalters in the title role; notably, she describes Mandelson (as played by Steven Mackintosh) to his face as a "complete shit".

None is entirely flattering -- as pointed out at some length in [[https://web.archive.org/web/20100530120200/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article7015254.ece this review]] of ''Mo'', which suggests he tends to [[InsultToRocks come out badly by comparison]] with ''[[FindingJudas Judas Iscariot]]''.

Elements of his character appear in not one, not two, but ''three'' different characters on ''Series/TheThickOfIt'', with Malcolm Tucker being a combination of him and Creator/AlastairCampbell and Julius Nicholson and Steve Fleming being blends of Mandelson, Andrew Adonis, and John Birt. Malcolm even at one point references the real Mandelson's sexual orientation. "The 'tache is a bit of a giveaway."

!Examples of tropes applied to Peter Mandelson in media:

* AdamWesting: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YiqnJDrmTM TV ads]] for his memoirs, if not his entire media persona since his latest return to UK politics.
* StraightGay
* VetinariJobSecurity

See also portrayals on:
* ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou''.
* ''Series/MockTheWeek'', especially [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3kLl9atj0Y this bit]].
* ''Series/DeadRingers''.
* According to WordOfGod, the Music/PetShopBoys' "I Get Along" is Blair/Mandelson RealPersonFic.
* He's played by Nigel Planer in "''The Hunt for Tony Blair''", a spoof film from ''Series/TheComicStripPresents'' which frames the major controversies of the Blair government as a 1950s Creator/EalingStudios-style FilmNoir.
* The Creator/Channel4 drama ''Coalition'' (broadcast 28 March 2015) features Creator/MarkGatiss as Mandelson. His first scene has him [[MundaneMadeAwesome appearing through a cloud of dry ice]].
----