Mandelson full of praise for the ‘good heart of feisty’ Tánaiste
The pair famously clashed in 2008 when Mr Mandelson was EU trade commissioner and was accused of selling out Irish agricultural interests in world trade negotiations.
But speaking in Dublin this weekend, Mr Mandelson revealed that a year after their clash, he got a “well done” message from Ms Coughlan after making a speech at a conference.
Asked what he thought of Ms Coughlan, Mr Mandelson paused for a moment before replying: “She’s quite feisty. She’s quite feisty . . . She makes a good case, she gave me a hard time, but . . . she’s got a good heart.
“When I made a rather celebrated and slightly flamboyant speech to the Labour Party conference in 2009, who did I get a very nice well-done message from but Mary? By text, sent via the ambassador. Really good and useful, these ambassadors.”
Mr Mandelson made the light-hearted comments during an interview with Miriam O’Callaghan as part of the Leviathan Political Cabaret event at the National Concert Hall on Saturday. But he also spoke more seriously about his 2008 disagreements with Ms Coughlan, then junior minister John McGuinness and the Irish Farming Association, who argued that his trade-liberalisation policies in the negotiations would see the European market flooded with Brazilian beef.
“I thought they had a good case for Irish farming, particularly for Irish beef which was amongst the best quality in Europe, but they didn’t have to be so defensive about it,” he said.
“I wasn’t selling them down the river. If you’re afraid of what Brazil is exporting into world agricultural markets, the only way to go is up – become better, higher-quality, more specialised – creating a sort of niche for yourself.”
The trade talks eventually collapsed in July 2008 and a few months later, Mr Mandelson left his job as commissioner to return to the British cabinet.
