At this time of unprecedented economic crisis Lord Mandelson faced a critical task in launching his scheme to unblock credit to small businesses. It was to upstage Alistair Darling and George Osborne.

He succeeded. Upstaging less assured political operators comes naturally to Lord M. He has elevated the role of business secretary from backing vocalist to lead guitarist within the cabinet rock band. His £21bn aid package was 10 times the size of the assistance offered by the parsimonious chancellor in the pre-Budget report. And unlike the £50bn initiative proposed by Mr Osborne, to whom notional generosity comes as naturally as to any opposition politician, it is real.