It's as much the image projected as the accusation itself that infuriates Chretien because the details sound so much like a Stevie Cameron story about former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Two political pals back in Quebec benefit from government largesse in a questionable land transaction involving public money. Chretien has always maintained that he and his government are so very different and so much better than the Mulroney administration. The Shawinigan hotel and golf course story cast doubt on that. It seems to happen every time Prime Minister Jean Chretien invites one of his dictator pals for a state visit to Canada.
All hell breaks loose back home.
This time it was worse. Colombian President Andres Pastrana got it both ways, back home and right here in Canada. When he arrived in Ottawa this week, a blue-ribbon band of protesters was waiting for him with a long list of human rights abuses in Colombia. Chretien simply doubled the RCMP security on his pal and pretended nothing was wrong. It worked for a while, at least until a guerrilla gang back in Cali, Colombia kidnapped a whole churchful of hostages.