EU Trade Commissioner Enjoyed MS Hospitality

Brian Blessed writes "Today's edition of The Times contains a report that Peter Mandelson, the EU (European Union) Trade Commissioner, spent New Year's Eve as a guest of Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, in the Carribean on Mr Allen's luxury yacht. The story mentions the conflict of interest that this causes because of the protracted legal battle between Microsoft and the European Commission. Perhaps the Trade Commissioner has also been in a position to influence the progress of European Software Patent legislation?"

Comments

Perception vs reality.

[winkydink]

Although Mr Allen is no longer directly involved in the management of Microsoft, he remains its second biggest shareholder. There is no suggestion that Mr Mandelson has broken the Commission's code of conduct.

As a rule, rihc and powerful people tend to hang out with other rich and powerful people. I suspect this is more about giving the appearance of impropriety rather than any impropriety itself. Political opponents will try to make hay from this.

Re:Perception vs reality.

[Zebadias]

the appearance of impropriety Mr Mandelson's record is not exactly stirling. He has been sacked from the goverment 2 times!

Re:Perception vs reality.

[purple_cobra]

If you knew anything about Mandelson's political history you might think this incident deserves a little investigation. Any search for him at the BBC's news site should turn up some useful information.

Re:Perception vs reality.

[k4_pacific]

Yes, in fact my company arranged a round of golf between one of our more satisfied customers and a prospective customer with the hope they would discuss our product. Kind of reminded me of when zoos put two pandas in the same habitat to see if they mate.

Businessman: As you can see, our product...
Zookeeper: Look everybody! He's "presenting".

Re:Perception vs reality.

[garcia]

As a rule, rihc and powerful people tend to hang out with other rich and powerful people. I suspect this is more about giving the appearance of impropriety rather than any impropriety itself. Political opponents will try to make hay from this.

Then, as a rule, political persons shouldn't be putting themselves in positions that will allow their opponents such room to gripe.

The article stated that this guy has done this three times before to such a degree that he was asked to step down.

Looks valid to me.

Re:Perception vs reality.

[stinerman]

"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."

-- Adam Smith

I think it is relevant to this topic.

Re:Perception vs reality.

[nganju]

Even if Paul Allen is not involved in the management of Microsoft, as a large shareholder, he still gains a lot if Mr. Mandelson decides to go easy on Microsoft.

I don't see how Allen's lack of direct involvement in MS management makes this a non-conflict of interest. Allen still has every motive to make nice with Mandelson.

Re:Perception vs reality.

[Pollardito]

RTFBBC

Well, why not?

[FlyByPC]

They buy everything else in sight -- how much can the EU possibly cost, anyway?

Re:Well, why not?

[Timesprout]

Well if you can wait till Russia join then you can probably pick the whole lot up for 27 Euros and a case of vodka.

Days of old...

[Anonymous Coward]

What happened to cut-throat politics and business? "If you scratch my back, I still won't scratch yours, but thanks for the scratch."

Re:Days of old...

[Timesprout]

If Peter Mandleson is behind you I dont think its to scratch your back.

Proof Positive

[Yanray]

Well at least we have proof positive that U.S. polititians aren't the only dirty ones.

Eruope, our corporations thank EU....

[isotope23]

Ahhh the benefits of centralizing power. Now Microsoft only has to buy off a few flunkies in the EU as opposed to each former European country. Much better for business.

Re:Eruope, our corporations thank EU....

[globalar]

The business community of Europe was the driving force behind the EU, the currency change, and the new demands for change in corporate merging laws between member states. This influence was secured way back when the EU was only a coal/steel trade organization.

Make no mistake - economic interests have unified Europe, and political ones are only following suit.

Re:Eruope, our corporations thank EU....

[isotope23]

Sheeple are Sheeple regardless of which side of the Ocean you are on. Eventually IMO we will have one world government.

I find it both sad and amazing that groups like the greens (which I believe have SOME valid points) rail about the corruption and power of corporations, yet their solution is to give more power to government. If you start with the premise that people are corruptable and power corrupts, how can you then endorse as a solution a greater concentration of power?

The end result is those with power will make deals between themselves to keep the power they have or to gain more.

So what else is new with politicians.

[cc-rider-Texas]

During the party on the Octopus, Mr Mandelson and Mr Allen greeted each other, but his spokesman insisted that "there was no substantial conversation" and that the pair merely exchanged pleasantries. This was merely an introduction. The bribes come later.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Let me be the first to say

[h. simpson]

This tastes like tinfoil to me. Paul Allen may be the second largest shareholder at Microsoft, but he's long since moved on from the Redmond giant.

I don't think it's a great idea for people like this to be enjoying the luxuries of other rich influential people at all, but I doubt this is a Microsoft specific thing.

This looks more improper than it truly is.

Re:Let me be the first to say

[downward dog]

You may be right that...

This looks more improper than it truly is.

...but your premise is wrong. Paul Allen may no longer be on Microsoft's payroll, but as their second largest shareholder, he is thoroughly invested in all of their business matters. Troubles with the EU? Paul Allen loses money. Happy times with the EU? Paul Allen makes money.

Re:Let me be the first to say

[rcs1000]

*BZZT* WRONG.

I work in finance, and checked Bloomberg yesterday (in order to argue Allen was a significant shareholder). Shockingly, it appears as if Paul Allen has sold almost all of his shares. Very quietly.

I tried to Google for a news story, but was unable to find one. Nevertheless, I would be very surprised if Allen had more than a small fraction of his wealth in Microsoft. (Certainly, compared to Vulture Ventures, Charter Communications, and that sports team he bought...)

Cheers,

Robert

Not a great track record.

[ShaniaTwain]

Conservative leaders say that Mr Mandelson, who was twice forced to resign from the Cabinet over allegations of sleaze, should learn the lessons of the past, demanding that he should be "totally open" and branding him "naive".

TWICE?! he was twice forced to resign over allegations of sleaze?! Wow, he either has vicious enemies or he's not so much on the up and up.

Re:Not a great track record.

[T-Kir]

Mandy (Mr Mandelsons nickname iirc) was one of the main spin doctors along with Alastair Campbell and Charlie Wheelan who made the Labour party what it is today (i.e. got Blair into power). So he was a pretty powerful politician for a while, although the double resignations made it too difficult for Blair to let him have a cabinet position again.

Note, this is AFAIK and I may have missed out some salient points... but will answer your question to some degree.

Re:Not a great track record.

[tyroneking]

He is sometimes an idiot (getting people to co-sign mortgages) AND he's gay (which earns him enemies for sadly obvious reasons) AND he is a friend of Tony Blair (which earns him enemies from his own side).
Nonetheless he did help to architect Labour's first election win for many years and I think he had a good reputation within his local constituency (Hartlepool - where they hung a monkey because they thought he was invading Frenchman- a long time ago of course but still very funny).
He has been forced to resign a couple of times but usually for incidents blown-out-of-proportion by his enemies, but unfortunately for incidents just like this one.
if he's doing anything wrong this will surely be the end for him.

I like him 'cause he's as stupid as I am.

From the Guardian profile:
- Neil Kinncok: "He's not half as good as he thinks he is and not half as bad as everyone else thinks he is."

Re:Not a great track record.

[tbjw]

When 'hang' is used to mean 'to kill by suspending from the neck' the past tense is more properly 'hanged'.

Re:Not a great track record.

[Frizzle Fry]

I have no idea what you just said, but my head hurts now. Hung a monkey?

"Hung" is the past tense of "hang". Hanging someone means subjecting them to a particular form of execution that involves suspending them by a rope around the neck.

That would only be the right past tense if they had been hanging a painting or other inanimate object. Here, one would say that the monkey was "hanged".

invitation

[ch-chuck]

I'll extend an invitation to the TC for a hiking/camping trip any time he wants to discuss FOSS. If everything goes well, I'll even break out the marshmallows.

A night to remember.

[millennial]

It all started at the party. Peter noticed Paul staring at him the whole time, and knew that he had to do something about it. He walked over to Paul and waited for him to say something.
Mandleson and Allen gazed longingly into each other's eyes. They knew that the moment was right, and if everything was perfect, there would be magic tonight.
"Whatever shall we do, Paul?" Peter said with a coy smile.
Paul just grinned and patted his hand. "How about we go into the bedroom and ... talk about those patents?"
Seriously. Homoeroticism abounds in this article. Two men spending New Year's Eve on the Caribbean in a private yacht? Whoa.
Anyways, to continue the story...
It was a night to remember. The two were up all night long, engaging in passionate discourse about patent restrictions on software in Europe. They say that private bargaining is like eating at a Chinese restaurant - it's not over until everyone gets their cookies. Paul got his patent cookies, and Mandelson got his legal jibblies off.
They knew that they could tell no one, so they told their spokespeople that "there was no substantial conversation" and that they had merely exchanged pleasantries.

I like my version better.

Foul play

[Before The End Chaos]

Political enemies don't have to be personal enemies too, even as fun as it'd be if they were all out for each others blood off of work hours.

Godbye Ethics , Hello luxuary cruise

[FidelCatsro]

How in the hell he thought it , Either A: acceptable , or B: a good idea , is simply beyond me .
Here is a man of immense power and persuasion taking what ammounts to a large bribe from microsoft and i have no doubts he was having a good drink enjoying ways to amicably let microsoft off on the fine , the opening up thing , oh and the Patent issue.

Tonight i am going to write a letter to my MEP and urge that they raise a question as to whether he should be thrown out of this position imediatly , and at the very lest that he get some awnsers as to why he thought this behaviour beffiting of a politican.

I do not want large lobby groups and private industry to have a strangle hold over the european commision , and if people like this are in office then i am begining to lose hope .

This will not stop me kicking up a fuss , and if you agree with me i urge you to do the same .A letter is sometimes all it takes (oh and while you at it , make sure to bug you MEP again about the patents issue)

Re:Godbye Ethics , Hello luxuary cruise

[bmalek]

Tonight i am going to write a letter to my MEP and urge that they raise a question as to whether he should be thrown out of this position imediatly , and at the very lest that he get some awnsers as to why he thought this behaviour beffiting of a politican.

The fact is that no matter where one lives this type of behaviour is exactly how politicians act. While we the people may not like it, this type of behaviour is seen as "normal" and practically "accepted" by today's society. The fact is that most people don't care whose pocket politicians are in as long as they follow the N.I.M.B.Y. (look up George Carlin) approach to the area they represent.

While writing letters and protesting people online may make one feel better, the only real way to eforce change is to act. The problem is that because the politicians have all the money already, your voice is often removed from the public view.

Re:Godbye Ethics , Hello luxuary cruise

[ScentCone]

Would we have had all this fuss if he'd had a nice lunch with Linus? A guy as powerful as this isn't going to be "bought" by the experience of staying on a nice boat for the weekend, or by the experience of Paul Allen's (no doubt stimulating - I'd like to meet him myself) company. The question is, can you point to the means by which the company in which Allen owns a lot of stock is going to have a "strangle hold" over the commission? In actual, practical, detailed, terms, what strangling mechanism is at play here? How does socializing among rich people induce force, etc., into the picture? If the guy's taking money from Allen or via Allen, don't you think that would stick out like a sore thumb?

I don't seem to recall the same reaction, say, in the US, when 99% of the entertainment industry's rich people invite elected officials to their yachts/homes/islands/etc for a week away. Or when European heads of state or key politicians are sitting down to extravagent meals together with the rich and famous throughout Europe. Let's face it: the only reason this is being shouted about as shocking here on slashdot is because the rich person in question has ties to Microsoft. If it was someone who owned a pile of stock in DaimlerChrysler, or Software AG, or BP, or Honda, no one would even have said a word.

Oh, and why exactly would you want a trade commissioner who doesn't have the ear, and doesn't hear from the people who back the largest companies, move around the biggest piles of money, and who are involved personally in the very trading activities that you're supposed to be understanding? A commissioner with no industry connections, or who only hangs out with the people running, say, labor unions, is going to be seriously naive, only have half the story, and definately be at odds with industry. Without those industries, there would be no point in talking about trade at all, let alone convening a commission to deal with it.

Very nice..

[ackthpt]

There are those born with no shame. The rest of us suffer with our consciences.

Reminds me of former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young, who had quite the large collection of priceless gems, for someone who got by on a mayor's salary. There was a reason Detroit kept getting worse and worse and it couldn't all be blamed on Ford, GM and Chrysler.

Isn't Paul Allen away from Microsoft? I thought he left the company and took his billions of $ to pursue his own dreams.

Mandelson has only one priority

[l-ascorbic]

..his own power.
For those who are not familiar with him, Peter Mandelson is one of the most skilled, cynical and cunning politicians in recent British history. A true heir to Macchiavelli's crown, he has shown himself unparelleled in his ability to attain and retain power. The guy has been sacked from the British cabinet on two occasions, but still managed to emerge with his acreer intact. His trick is to make himself invaluable as the right hand man of the guy with the power. First Blair, now Barrosso. He is not the sort to be bought by Microsoft. He will stay close to them just as long as they are useful to him and no longer. I think this a case where the cynical MS lobbyists have met their match.

Re:Mandelson has only one priority

[sepluv]

Alternatively, maybe Mandelson and Allen (and, therefore, the €C and M$) are working as allies to milk the most out of the European people for their own ends.

This is, of course, a totally crazy conspiracy theory and would in no way be representative of the normal behavour of European commisioners (especially the stain-free* Mandelson) or founders and shareholders of Microsoft.

* talking of stains, how much do you bet they weren't just talking on this yacht on new year's eve. Mandelson is defintely gay (and known for his homosexual affairs with others in power). No idea about Allen--but maybe it was a you-give-me-a-blowjob-and-we'll-drop-charges-again st-Microsoft sort of deal.

Good old Mandy

[rleyton]

Hoho, Mandelson never learns. So much for third time lucky. For the non-Brits that might be around, Peter Mandelson is something of a Blair loyalist, who is actually now in his third senior political incarnation.

First up, he was in the cabinet culminating in Trade Secretary, but had to resign after it was discovered he had taken a loan of £373,000 (about $700,000) from another minister and not declared it in the public records.

A few years later, long enough for Blair but not the rest of the population to forget, he was back "resurrected" as it were (apt, as he's also known as the Prince of Darkness) to be the Northern Ireland secretary. Guess what, not that long after it transpired he was involved with a dodgy claim by some rather wealthy businessmen to gain British passports.

He got the Trade Commissioner job by merit Blair being blind to his foibles. So, now we discover that he's been taking benefits in kind, presumably rather on the sly, from a co-founder of Microsoft that just happens to have been landed with a hefty fine by the EU.

Why am I not surprised?

More here on the esteemed gentlemans career if you don't like bitter and twisted British political mumblings.

Re:Good old Mandy

[isotope23]

"Hoho, Mandelson never learns."
"who is actually now in his third senior political incarnation"

As exemplified in your own post I'd say the guy has learned quite well.

Re:Good old Mandy

[advocate_one]

I am convinced that Mandelson has got the "goods" on some aspect of Tony Blair's past... it's the only explanation for why he keeps getting called back despite his many indiscretions.

Word is...

[dbleoslow]

Linus invited this guy on the same day to hang out, discuss kernal optimization and play some D&D but was turned down in favor of Allen.

The Octopus

[Jon Abbott]

Peter Mandleson, the EU (European Union) Trade Commissioner, spent New Year's Eve as a guest of Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, in the Carribean on Mr Allen's luxury yacht.

Ah, yes, the Octopus ... What a hulking beast of a ship!

Virgin Galactic the real reason?

[StacyWebb]

Does it not make more sense that the meeting, would involve Allen's role in Virgin Galactic (owned by Richard Branson you remember him, british guy)not his ties with Microsoft and their role in the EU.

The Prince of darkness

[dhopton]

This suprises you because...? It's peter mandleson, the prince of darkness, the arch overlord of the bad-things.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

The name is "Peter Mandelson", not Mandleson.

[Futurepower(R)]

Slashdot editors can be so disgusting sometimes. The name is "Peter Mandelson", not Mandleson. BBC News Online's Nick Assinder looks at the turbulent career of Peter Mandelson. His "career had twice been dashed on the rocks of sleaze, ..."

Peter Mandelson is apparently the go-to guy in the EU when someone wants something illegal done: "Mr Mandelson had come under pressure to explain his involvment in the passport application of Srichand Hinduja, an Indian billionaire who, along with his brother Gopichand, appeared in court in connection with a 1986 arms dealing scandal."

Conflict of interest is extremely destructive of good government even when it is only the appearance of conflict of interest.

The U.S. government has become a conflict of interest machine: Unprecedented Corruption: A guide to conflict of interest in the U.S. government.

I hope Paul Allen

[Insipid Trunculance]

served some Guacamole.

Welcome to reality

[c0ldfusi0n]

If you think that there's no corruption, lobbyism or influence in these spheres, you need a reality check. It is quite possible that Mandleson was influenced by Allen, and it's quite possible that it's exactly why he accepted to go on that yacht. I mean, come on. If OSS developers could afford the same things, you think they wouldn't show off how lucrative their endeavours are? In this particular case, i think the goal was more to share this lucrativity and showing it off just to send the message "What if..".

Or they could just be friends, you know. Those things happen.

so...

[mr_tommy]

Mandleson resigned from the British Cabinet twice for sleaze related activities; it's nice to see that times don't change the man, and he can really stand on his moral podium in Brussels.

Re:Doesnt matter who he spends his time with

[Saeed al-Sahaf]

Paul Allen is no longer an employee, partner or shareholder at Microsoft anymore.

Hogwash. He is still the second largest shareholder.

Paul Allen is out of Microsoft. Way out.

[Animats]

He left Microsoft in the 1980s. It's generally agreed that this was good for Microsoft. Allen's businesses since then, from Interval Research to the Experience Music Project to the Seattle Seahawks, along with a long list of little companies, have generally been flops. The phrase "the hell that is a Paul Allen company" is known in Silicon Valley.

You don't want to take a ride on his yacht. It might sink.

Detals of Paul Allen's yacht [PowerPoint]

[Zemplar]

A very impressing ship indeed! Very interesting detail of his yacht... http://kimmershow.com/fileTamer/TheOctopus.pps#54

open source lobbying

[bytesmythe]

I wonder why he didn't spend time on Eric S. Raymond's luxury yacht? (I suspect because it's actually pronounced Throat Warbler Mangrove.)

Sack 'em both!

[Bad Boy Marty]

Apparently, neither one of them can obey laws, though both serve to influence their creation. Seems quite the abuse of power to me.