skunk
Nov 29, 2004, 07:29 PM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,1362019,00.html
Softly, softly
George Bush is using his first official visit to Canada to try out a less cocky tone towards allies who oppose his Iraq policy, writes Anne McIlroy
Monday November 29, 2004
US President George Bush is to tread a carefully choreographed path to avoid parliamentary hecklers and public protests on his first official visit to Canada tomorrow.
Canadians opposed to Mr Bush's policies on issues ranging from the war in Iraq to marijuana use are organising large demonstrations. And the president has declined an invitation to address parliament, with national newspapers reporting he was concerned about being booed in the House of Commons.
Anti-Bush sentiment runs high among many members of parliament, including some who belong to the governing Liberal party.
The prime minister, Paul Martin, recently kicked a Liberal MP out of the caucus after she stomped on a George Bush doll while taping a segment for a national comedy show. Carolyn Parrish was already notorious for her untempered criticism of the Bush administration, having called Americans "those bastards" and described US allies in the missile defence plan as a coalition of "idiots".
Instead of risking more of the same, Mr Bush has chosen to deliver the major speech of his visit in the east coast city of Halifax. He is expected to thank the Canadian navy for its work in the Gulf and the hundreds of people who took stranded American airline passengers into their home after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11 2001.
It is Mr Bush's first visit to a Nato ally since his victory in the November 2 election, a warm-up for a trip to Europe in February, and he is expected to try out a less cocky, more conciliatory tone towards allies who disagree with the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The Halifax stop is a good place to start. Many Canadians felt snubbed when Mr Bush didn't mention Canada in a speech to Congress three years ago in which he thanked many other countries by name for their help after 9/11.
His visit is the first official trip to Canada since he was elected four years ago, although he has been to Canada twice, to attend a meeting of the G8 in Alberta and for the Quebec City Summit of the Americas. Mr Bush cancelled a planned trip to Canada in the spring of 2003.
Relations between Canada and the US have been chilly since the former prime minister, Jean Chrétien, decided not to join the invasion of Iraq. There have been slights and insults on both sides, with one of Mr Chrétien's most senior aides describing the president as a moron.
I'm really looking forward to seeing George Bush being "less cocky". Can he do it? Will he be wired? Will somebody slap him? Please?
Softly, softly
George Bush is using his first official visit to Canada to try out a less cocky tone towards allies who oppose his Iraq policy, writes Anne McIlroy
Monday November 29, 2004
US President George Bush is to tread a carefully choreographed path to avoid parliamentary hecklers and public protests on his first official visit to Canada tomorrow.
Canadians opposed to Mr Bush's policies on issues ranging from the war in Iraq to marijuana use are organising large demonstrations. And the president has declined an invitation to address parliament, with national newspapers reporting he was concerned about being booed in the House of Commons.
Anti-Bush sentiment runs high among many members of parliament, including some who belong to the governing Liberal party.
The prime minister, Paul Martin, recently kicked a Liberal MP out of the caucus after she stomped on a George Bush doll while taping a segment for a national comedy show. Carolyn Parrish was already notorious for her untempered criticism of the Bush administration, having called Americans "those bastards" and described US allies in the missile defence plan as a coalition of "idiots".
Instead of risking more of the same, Mr Bush has chosen to deliver the major speech of his visit in the east coast city of Halifax. He is expected to thank the Canadian navy for its work in the Gulf and the hundreds of people who took stranded American airline passengers into their home after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11 2001.
It is Mr Bush's first visit to a Nato ally since his victory in the November 2 election, a warm-up for a trip to Europe in February, and he is expected to try out a less cocky, more conciliatory tone towards allies who disagree with the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The Halifax stop is a good place to start. Many Canadians felt snubbed when Mr Bush didn't mention Canada in a speech to Congress three years ago in which he thanked many other countries by name for their help after 9/11.
His visit is the first official trip to Canada since he was elected four years ago, although he has been to Canada twice, to attend a meeting of the G8 in Alberta and for the Quebec City Summit of the Americas. Mr Bush cancelled a planned trip to Canada in the spring of 2003.
Relations between Canada and the US have been chilly since the former prime minister, Jean Chrétien, decided not to join the invasion of Iraq. There have been slights and insults on both sides, with one of Mr Chrétien's most senior aides describing the president as a moron.
I'm really looking forward to seeing George Bush being "less cocky". Can he do it? Will he be wired? Will somebody slap him? Please?
