Premier defends Bush

The week's news at a glance.

Ottawa

An aide to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien resigned this week after telling a reporter President Bush was “a moron.” Françoise Ducros, the premier’s spokeswoman, reportedly criticized Bush for soliciting support for war in Iraq during a NATO gathering in Prague. “What a moron,” she said. Opposition leaders lambasted Ducros, and worried aloud that her blunder would worsen already testy relations between the White House and Ottawa. “This is not a silly comment,” said Jason Kenney of the Canadian Alliance. “This is a serious diplomatic faux pas.” Chrétien refused Ducros’ resignation once before accepting it, but stressed that he didn’t share her assessment of Bush. “He is a friend of mine,” said Chrétien. “He is not a moron at all.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us