Larry Zolf, writing in the National Post, pleads with Stephen Harper to restore Conrad Black's Canadian citizenship:
Prime Minister, you and you alone can give Conrad Black his Canadian citizenship back. David Radler, who ratted on Black, will serve time in a comfortable Canadian jail. Black faces 20 years for taking his own file boxes from the Toronto offices of Hollinger Inc., and faces the possibility of spending that time in a tough Chicago prison. That is a ludicrous situation.
Mr. Prime Minister, why not imitate Mr. Bush's treatment of Scooter Libby and show Black some mercy, too?
The Conservative party owes Conrad Black a great deal. He created the National Post, a newspaper that championed the Canadian Alliance and you too, Mr. Prime Minister.
I defended Black on the CBC Web site. I found the whole Black trial American vigilantism at its worst.
But that's beside the point, Mr. Prime Minister. Giving Black his Canadian citizenship back would be the right and decent thing for you as a prime minister to do. It would also piss off the Canadian Liberal establishment and the Canadian Liberal media, and wouldn't that be fun for you?
In a way, Zolf's right. The Harpies do owe Convict Black a debt of gratitude and a man of such stalwart principles as Stephen Harper claimed to be back when might even do what Zolf suggests. But Harpo has already shown that he's not going to let his vaunted principles get in the way of his quest for the chalice of power.
Sorry, Larry, but with Harper languishing in the polls and beset by all manner of looming troubles at home the last thing he needs is to invite public outrage by cutting a cushy deal for Lord Black. Even you, Larry, know that much.
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