Kato
11-27-2002, 10:00 AM
Aide to Canada PM Quits After Calling Bush 'Moron'
Tue Nov 26, 4:12 PM ET
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien who called U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) a "moron" resigned on Tuesday, saying the controversy generated by the comment had made her position untenable.
Reuters Photo
[img:a16ea728ce]http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20021126/i/1038333401.806289446.jpg[/img:a16ea728ce]
Francoise Ducros, Chretien's communications director, had been under intense pressure from opposition politicians and the media since making the remark last Wednesday during a conversation with journalists during a NATO (news - web sites) summit in Prague.
She first offered her resignation last Friday but Chretien refused to accept it, saying the remarks had been private. But on Tuesday she sent Chretien a letter saying she was quitting.
"It is very apparent to me that the controversy will make it impossible for me to do my job. I would therefore like to leave my position as director of communications immediately," wrote Ducros, who had been in the post since mid-1999.
Ducros, a 40-year-old lawyer known for her combative and often abrasive manner, showed undying loyalty to Chretien and was considered one of the most influential players in Ottawa.
"I'm very sorry. She was very good, a very competent person and served me and served the government extremely well, and I wish her good luck," Chretien told reporters.
The opposition Canadian Alliance party insisted from the start that Ducros should quit, saying her jibe had damaged the already strained political ties between Ottawa and Washington, and called on Chretien should apologize for her comments.
"This is constantly the problem with this prime minister. He can never admit he's wrong. Even today he continued to defend (her) actions," said Alliance leader Stephen Harper.
"It's part of a pattern of anti-American comments that are unhelpful and I just think the government would best to extricate itself from this rather than the prime minister digging himself in some more," he told reporters.
Chretien declared last week that Bush "is a friend of mine, he is not a moron at all" and told reporters the incident had not damaged ties with Washington. That said, Ducros's comments did little to improve his cool relationship with Bush.
Chretien sits on the left wing of Canada's ruling Liberals and is uncomfortable with the right-wing Republican president's stance on many issues, including what to do with Iraq.
The 68-year-old prime minister developed a close friendship with former President Clinton (news - web sites) and often golfed with the Democrat. By contrast, Chretien is one of the few leaders of a close U.S. ally yet to be invited to spend time at Bush's private ranch in Texas.
"You know I remember one day they told me only 2 percent of Americans in 1994 knew who I was. They asked me if I was offended. I said no, because none of them vote for me," Chretien told reporters on Tuesday. In Washington, a White House spokesman declined to comment on the resignation.
Tensions between the two countries have risen in recent months amid a trade dispute over Canadian softwood lumber exports as well as a forthcoming U.S. probe into Canadian wheat exports.
Ottawa also strongly opposes the idea of a unilateral U.S. attack on Iraq and protested loudly to Washington about new security rules that mandated the fingerprinting of Canadian citizens born in a number of Middle Eastern states.
According to Canadian media reports, White House officials privately refer to Chretien as "dino," short for dinosaur.
It was an open secret in Ottawa that Ducros had been looking for a job in the bureaucracy for some time, but the circumstances of her resignation are another blow to Chretien, who has become increasingly beleaguered since announcing in August that he planned to step down in February 2004.
Chretien vowed to spend his last 18 months pushing an activist agenda, but that quickly bogged down amid persistent opposition accusations of government sleaze. Unrest is mounting in Liberal ranks amid a growing feeling that Chretien will decide to step down ahead of schedule.
The clear favorite to take over is former Finance Minister Paul Martin, sacked by Chretien in June for running an unofficial leadership campaign. Ducros regularly provoked the wrath of Martin's advisers, who accused her of briefing journalists against Martin when he was finance minister.
Tue Nov 26, 4:12 PM ET
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien who called U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) a "moron" resigned on Tuesday, saying the controversy generated by the comment had made her position untenable.
Reuters Photo
[img:a16ea728ce]http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20021126/i/1038333401.806289446.jpg[/img:a16ea728ce]
Francoise Ducros, Chretien's communications director, had been under intense pressure from opposition politicians and the media since making the remark last Wednesday during a conversation with journalists during a NATO (news - web sites) summit in Prague.
She first offered her resignation last Friday but Chretien refused to accept it, saying the remarks had been private. But on Tuesday she sent Chretien a letter saying she was quitting.
"It is very apparent to me that the controversy will make it impossible for me to do my job. I would therefore like to leave my position as director of communications immediately," wrote Ducros, who had been in the post since mid-1999.
Ducros, a 40-year-old lawyer known for her combative and often abrasive manner, showed undying loyalty to Chretien and was considered one of the most influential players in Ottawa.
"I'm very sorry. She was very good, a very competent person and served me and served the government extremely well, and I wish her good luck," Chretien told reporters.
The opposition Canadian Alliance party insisted from the start that Ducros should quit, saying her jibe had damaged the already strained political ties between Ottawa and Washington, and called on Chretien should apologize for her comments.
"This is constantly the problem with this prime minister. He can never admit he's wrong. Even today he continued to defend (her) actions," said Alliance leader Stephen Harper.
"It's part of a pattern of anti-American comments that are unhelpful and I just think the government would best to extricate itself from this rather than the prime minister digging himself in some more," he told reporters.
Chretien declared last week that Bush "is a friend of mine, he is not a moron at all" and told reporters the incident had not damaged ties with Washington. That said, Ducros's comments did little to improve his cool relationship with Bush.
Chretien sits on the left wing of Canada's ruling Liberals and is uncomfortable with the right-wing Republican president's stance on many issues, including what to do with Iraq.
The 68-year-old prime minister developed a close friendship with former President Clinton (news - web sites) and often golfed with the Democrat. By contrast, Chretien is one of the few leaders of a close U.S. ally yet to be invited to spend time at Bush's private ranch in Texas.
"You know I remember one day they told me only 2 percent of Americans in 1994 knew who I was. They asked me if I was offended. I said no, because none of them vote for me," Chretien told reporters on Tuesday. In Washington, a White House spokesman declined to comment on the resignation.
Tensions between the two countries have risen in recent months amid a trade dispute over Canadian softwood lumber exports as well as a forthcoming U.S. probe into Canadian wheat exports.
Ottawa also strongly opposes the idea of a unilateral U.S. attack on Iraq and protested loudly to Washington about new security rules that mandated the fingerprinting of Canadian citizens born in a number of Middle Eastern states.
According to Canadian media reports, White House officials privately refer to Chretien as "dino," short for dinosaur.
It was an open secret in Ottawa that Ducros had been looking for a job in the bureaucracy for some time, but the circumstances of her resignation are another blow to Chretien, who has become increasingly beleaguered since announcing in August that he planned to step down in February 2004.
Chretien vowed to spend his last 18 months pushing an activist agenda, but that quickly bogged down amid persistent opposition accusations of government sleaze. Unrest is mounting in Liberal ranks amid a growing feeling that Chretien will decide to step down ahead of schedule.
The clear favorite to take over is former Finance Minister Paul Martin, sacked by Chretien in June for running an unofficial leadership campaign. Ducros regularly provoked the wrath of Martin's advisers, who accused her of briefing journalists against Martin when he was finance minister.