Yachtgate

Screeds have been written on the convoluted goings on in Corfu, so I'll limit my post to the role played by Nathanial Rothschild.

I nearly fell off my chair when I read the letter he sent to the Times. It is curt and incendiary. It's almost unheard of for someone like him make a direct attack on a politician in such a public way. Without the letter, this would have been a minor story based on rumours and reports from "friends". But the letter is like an Exocet.

I was even more astonished to find that Rothschild was a Tory supporter, and his mother had donated £190,000 to the running of Osborne's office. Note the donation was not to general Conservative funds, but to Osborne. Apparently they are all supposed to be friends.

So what on earth has happened to make Rothschild fall out with Osborne to this extent? I can't believe he was being protective of Mandelson, who is Labour. People like Mandelson and indeed all Labour folk, are expendable to people like the Rothschilds. The other explanation that has been put forward is that this was an old boy put-down for gossip. But the Osbornes are more titled than the Rothschilds (though less monied) and why didn't he put down Murdoch as well for stirring the pot?

If this is really about mere irritation at blabbing, all I can say is that they do friendship differently in ToryWorld than everywhere else. A Labour person irritated with another Labour person would have expressed their anger in private and smiled through gritted teeth in public. But then Labour is tribal.

Going public like this, with a mission to destroy, is on a whole other level than irritation. Either aristos have a truly weird idea of friendship or there is something else going on here.