Mandelson puts ecommerce in spin

On Tuesday, the UK's former DTI chief Peter Mandelson told Silicon.com that British electronic commerce has gone off the boil. Aside from offering a general warning about the state of our e-economy, he was trying to tell us something.

According to Mandelson: "[The UK] started out successfully but we've been sitting on our European lead and allowing other countries to catch up and overtake us."

This "good start" happens to date back, pre-scandal, to when Mandelson himself was still in the cabinet and firmly in the driving seat of the Government's ecommerce policy. Since then, he claims, Britain's lead has slipped and we're in danger of falling behind other European countries including France and Germany.

A poorly veiled criticism, for sure, of Stephen Byers who currently heads the DTI and its undeniably troubled ecommerce strategies. But is Mandelson right? Is this convenient revisionism or would we have been better off all along with Mandelson at the helm?

Sure, there have been problems. The critics have been quick to target every delay and false move the government has made in the last year. And there's been plenty to write about.

But its very easy to look back - with a certain amount of bitterness, Mr Mandelson - and say, "I would have done it better".

He was certainly pivotal in the policy's infancy as ministers slowly heaved themselves towards recognising their inevitable role in the development of an ecommerce movement. Many people still think he should be reinstated through the role of e-envoy that still remains embarrassingly empty.

However, the real problems blocking a speedy formation of ecommerce policy and framework have been political differences between government departments and - surprise, surprise - a lack of understanding of the issues.

If Mandelson could have felled these obstacles over the course of a year he would have done a better job than Byers. But it is unlikely that he could have done so. These problems lie deep within the foundations of our government and are equally issues for other nations worldwide.

Mandelson did wonders for the internal and external image of ecommerce. That's what he does best. But it's impossible and, on balance, probably inaccurate to say that he could have achieved more than the current players.

Meanwhile, we'll just have to struggle on without him. Unless, of course, he makes a stunning comeback. And don't rule that out.