Going Native?

So the Prince of Darkness got through his 3 hour ordeal at the hands of the MEP's with the aplomb that we would expect from the master of smarm. The key issue for MEP's seems to be whether or not the former confidant of number ten can truly be a servant of the European Project.

From EU Business He was visibly put on the spot when an MEP asked where his chief allegiance now lies: to Blair, to the European Commission, or to the EU assembly to whom he has to regularly account.

They obviously don't know our Peter, whose only loyalty is to himself. However if in a fix, the obvious thing to do is speak French. As the Troygraph Says:

Opening his remarks in stiff French before switching to English..... Soothing French MEPs in an accomplished performance at the European Parliament, the New Labour loyalist insisted that his first allegiance would now be to Brussels. "I have moved on. I am not a House of Commons man. I am a European Parliament man. I am a European Commission man," he said, promising to keep his distance from Downing Street.

So the Pension and expenses start to work immediately. But there will always be a Little Englander or two to spoil the party:

The signs that Mr Mandelson is already going native before starting work on Nov 1 provoked an acerbic response form Nigel Farage, MEP, the UK Independence Party's leader in Brussels. He called on the former Cabinet minister to resign his post as a Privy Councillor since he could not serve two masters, swearing allegiance to both the British sovereign and the EU. Mr Mandelson shot back that there was no conflict between patriotism and fervour for Europe.

Mr Farage is obviously better versed in the Good Book than Mr Mandelson. I have no doubt that many naive Europhiles believe that there is no such conflict, but Mr Farage is quoting from an authority higher than the Prince of Darkness himself when he says otherwise. When the chips are down, I wonder which way the new trade commissioner will swing?