Britain's Labour Party, ousted from power after 13 years of rule, risks seeing divisions reopened by the publication of the memoirs of former minister Peter Mandelson, long at the heart of its internal intrigues.
Mr Mandelson, who worked with former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, lays bare the tensions between the two men, telling the London Times in an interview that Mr Blair had to devote too much energy to dealing "with this insurgency from next door."
According to Mr Mandelson’s memoirs, Mr Brown’s attempts to hold on to power were thwarted by Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg’s demand that he step aside as part of any coalition between their two parties.
The former business secretary also claims Mr Blair told Mr Brown after May’s inconclusive general election that the public would not accept him remaining in office.
While the divisions between Mr Blair, prime minister from 1997 to 2007, and his former finance minister and successor Mr Brown have been well documented, Mr Mandelson's account comes when Labour is adapting to life in opposition and effectively rudderless.
The party is conducting a five-way leadership fight after Mr Brown stepped down in May following electoral defeat which ushered in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.
Tellingly, the main candidates for the leadership are often defined by their relationship to the two former prime ministers.
Former foreign secretary David Miliband, the frontrunner, is seen as the "heir to Blair", steering a centrist course. Ed Balls, who served as schools secretary and was a close aide to Mr Brown, is a more combative figure who enjoys closer ties with the unions who help to bankroll the party.
In the middle is Ed Miliband, younger brother of David, and a consensual figure who has good relations with both camps. The two other candidates are former health secretary Andy Burnham and backbench MP Diane Abbott.
The new leader will not be named until the party's annual conference on September 25th, leaving a vacuum which Mr Mandelson's The Third Man
memoir and a book by Mr Blair due at the start of September will help to fill.
Media stories suggested that Mr Blair was angry that his former lieutenant beat him to the punch by publishing his memoirs just two months after the election defeat. The book is published by Harper Collins on Thursday and serialisation began in the Times today.
Mr Mandelson, a master of political spin, twice had to resign from ministerial roles under Mr Blair. Mr Brown brought him back into government in 2008 after he served as a European Commissioner and he became the most influential minister in the cabinet.
Mr Mandelson has so far refused to endorse any of the candidates in the leadership battle.
Reuters