BRITAIN: The twice-resigned former cabinet minister, Mr Peter Mandelson, is expected to make a sensational political comeback today by agreeing to go to Brussels as Britain's new EU commissioner.
The Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, is believed to have offered his close friend and confidant the post last weekend.
And the Hartlepool MP is reported to have spent an agonising week deciding whether to accept that his Westminster career is in fact over.
However, Downing Street is clearly confident that Mr Mandelson will take up the post, and Mr Blair is hoping to confirm the appointment in a conversation with the newly installed Commission President, Mr José Manuel Barroso, this morning.
The confirmation that Mr Blair had decided to risk inevitable controversy by appointing Mr Mandelson to such a politically sensitive post came as Downing Street finally signalled there would not after all be a summer cabinet reshuffle. After a week of indecision inside No 10 it seems Mr Blair has been persuaded that surviving the Butler report on pre-war intelligence about Iraq, the retention of Birmingham Hodge Hill in last week's by-elections and renewed Conservative gloom have dispelled any lingering questions about his leadership intentions and made a recasting of the cabinet unnecessary.
However, the bittersweet nature of Mr Mandelson's job offer is that Mr Blair appears not to have had the strength to overcome ministerial objections to Mr Mandelson's return to the cabinet.
The only man in British political history to have been forced to resign from cabinet twice, Mr Mandelson was left hurt and angry when ejected from his Northern Ireland post after wrongly being accused of helping the wealthy Hinduja family with their passport applications.
Mr Mandelson had previously quit as trade secretary after it emerged that he had not disclosed to officials that he had a personal home-loan arrangement with a fellow minister at the time, Mr Geoffrey Robinson.
However, in his recent television interview with Mr Blair's former communications director, Mr Alastair Campbell, Mr Mandelson complained that a higher standard had been set for him over the Hindujas affair.
He also felt that his old friend had rushed to judgment instead of giving him "the benefit of the doubt" while awaiting the official report, which subsequently cleared him of any wrongdoing.
And while some of his many critics were last night accusing Mr Mandelson of "milking the moment", there is no doubt he harboured a genuine belief that Mr Blair could and should have restored him to the cabinet, at least after next year's expected general election.
It is also certain that, in arriving at his decision, Mr Mandelson will have been seeking assurance that he will continue to hold influence as a member of Mr Blair's trusted political inner circle.
Passionately loyal to Mr Blair, Mr Mandelson has never been forgiven by allies of the Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, for, as they maintain, switching sides and backing Mr Blair in the leadership race to succeed the late John Smith 10 years ago.
No names were attached to the report that a number of cabinet ministers had privately opposed Mr Mandelson's mooted return to government. However, Channel Four News last night confirmed the continuing personality faultlines at the heart of New Labour when it reported that Mr Brown had certainly not opposed Mr Mandelson's proposed transfer to Brussels.