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Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff criticizes the government on H1N1 during Question Period in the House of Commons on Tuesday November 3, 2009.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:35 AM

Michael Ignatieff: anti-monarchist?

Jane Taber

Hot (as in hot water): Michael Ignatieff is worried about lines for flu shots not lines of succession. That’s the Liberal Leader’s answer to questions today about the anti-monarchy piece (unearthed by mischievous Conservatives?) he wrote nearly 20 years ago. It’s pertinent as Mr. Ignatieff is to meet this week with Prince Charles.

In the Ignatieff article, which was published in the Montreal Gazette in 1992, the politician writes about the separation of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. “Listening to the separation announcement, I found myself wondering exactly why this shambles was so magically preferable to an elected presidency.” And Mr. Ignatieff, who is a disciplined writer, states, “the British now have to decide whether to admit how republican their history actually is or whether to continue with the fantasy that they are ruled by kings and queens.”

Given all this, what does Mr. Ignatieff say when he meets the Prince? Quit? Stay? His spokesman Michael O’Shaugnessy says none of the above. “The Leader is focused on the issue of H1N1. Right now, Canadians are worried about lines for flu shots, not lines of succession. This is not an issue Canadians are focused on. He looks forward to his meeting with Prince Charles later in the week.”

Not: Talk about a royal bum’s rush. The very day that Prince Charles and Camilla exit Canada after their 11-day visit, the CBC is broadcasting a rather provocative, and dare we say nasty, take on Charles, the man, the prince, the father and the future king.

The documentary, After Elizabeth II: Monarchy in Peril, by producer John Curtin, is well-done, entertaining, lovely to watch and no doubt will stir the pot debate about the relevancy of the monarchy. Mr. Curtin interviews several columnists in Britain, one of whom, The Independent’s Johann Hari, takes shots galore at the future King. He calls Charles “deeply weird” and muses that Charles has power and place simply because he “passed through [Queen Elizabeth’s] womb.”

Other commentators criticize the cost of the monarchy and question what it does for Britain. Certainly not bring in tourists as one Legoland, the theme park close to Windsor Castle, attracts more visitors than the Queen’s historic residence, according to one of the royal-watchers interviewed.

You get the idea. Goodbye, Prince Charles.

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Ottawa Notebook Contributors

Jane Taber, senior political writer

Jane Taber

Jane Taber has been on Parliament Hill since the Mulroney days, first writing for the Ottawa Citizen in 1986. Since then, she's reported for a small television network, WTN, and for the National Post before joining The Globe’s parliamentary bureau in 2002. She is the senior political writer and also co-host of Question Period, which airs Sundays on CTV.

 
John Ibbitson

John Ibbitson

John Ibbitson started at The Globe in 1999 and has been Queen's Park columnist and Ottawa political affairs correspondent. Most recently, he was a correspondent and columnist in Washington, where he wrote Open and Shut: Why America has Barack Obama and Canada has Stephen Harper. He returned to Ottawa as bureau chief in 2009. Before joining The Globe, he worked as a reporter, columnist and Queen’s Park correspondent for Southam papers.

 

Steven Chase

Steven Chase has covered federal politics in Ottawa for The Globe since mid-2001. He's previously worked in the paper's Vancouver and Calgary bureaus. Prior to that, he reported on Alberta politics for the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, and on national issues for Alberta Report. He's had ink-stained hands for far longer though, having worked as a paperboy for the (now defunct) Montreal Star, the Winnipeg Free Press, the Vancouver Sun and the North Shore News.

 
Deputy Ottawa bureau chief Campbell Clark

Campbell Clark

Campbell Clark has been a political writer in The Globe and Mail’s Ottawa bureau since 2000. Before that he worked for The Montreal Gazette and the National Post. He writes about Canadian politics and foreign policy. He stopped being fascinated by ShamWow commercials after that guy’s nasty incident in Florida, but still wonders if one can really pull a truck with that Mighty Putty stuff.

 

Bill Curry

A member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery since 1999, Bill Curry worked for The Hill Times and the National Post prior to joining The Globe in Feb. 2005. Originally from North Bay, Ont., Bill reports on a wide range of topics on Parliament Hill. He is very protective of the office copy of Marleau & Montpetit.

 

Gloria Galloway

Gloria Galloway has been a journalist for almost 30 years. She worked at the Windsor Star, the Hamilton Spectator, the National Post, the Canadian Press and a number of small newspapers before being hired by The Globe and Mail as deputy national editor in 2001. Gloria returned to reporting two years later and joined the Ottawa bureau in 2004. She has covered every federal election since 1997 and has done several tours in Afghanistan.

 

Daniel Leblanc

Daniel Leblanc studied political science at the University of Ottawa and journalism at Carleton University. He became a full-time reporter in 1998, first at the Ottawa Citizen and then in the Ottawa bureau of The Globe and Mail. While he likes the occasional brown envelope, he is also open to anonymous emails.

 

Stephen Wicary

Stephen Wicary has been with The Globe since 2001, working on the news desk as a copy editor, page designer, production editor and front page editor. During the U.S invasion of Iraq, he pulled a three-month stint as overnight editor of the website. He moved to the parliamentary bureau at the end of 2008 to bolster online political coverage.