Ignatieff in Quebec

Here's an interesting little article in Le Devoir about Michael Ignatieff as seen from a Quebec perspective:

Ignatieff, Trudeau du ROC?: Mais elle a été prononcée, cette phrase, hier en fin d'après-midi, au terme de la première tournée de porte-à-porte du nouveau politicien de 58 ans qui, à l'autre bout du fil, se disait «transi» et épuisé par une semaine où sa candidature a été bruyamment remise en question. Avec la prudence qui provient de son nouveau statut, il enchaîne tout de suite dans son français étincelant : «Mais je dois concéder que [le nationalisme québécois] fut une source d'innovation politique remarquable, dans les politiques sociales, par exemple, dans Hydro-Québec, etc.» Une source, dit-il, qui a influé sur l'ensemble du Canada.

Ignatieff is unknown in Quebec, but the comparison to Bernard-Henri Levy is quite apt for those who are familiar with Levy, a French writer whose ideas I find somewhat objectionable.  Levy is unknown in the English world as well, but he does have a somewhat ideologically analogous place in Francophonia that Ignatieff does in Anglophonia. 

Anyway, the article appropriately describes Ignatieff's relationship to Quebec, which is one of decreasing Trudeauism.  Now, I'm somewhat sympathetic in practical terms to Trudeau's constitutional and cultural project over Quebec nationalism and other competing visions such as that espoused by "Western alienation," while recognizing that this viewpoint is, um, hardly perfect.  Ignatieff now believes that Quebec nationalism has contributed ideas that are important to the whole of Canada, while still opposing separation.  Contrast this to previous objections to Bill 101. 

Now I don't know how Ignatieff's journey to this particular position was reached, and I won't cast aspersions on his sincerity that might emanate from his new found position as possible Liberal heir-apparent.   Since his position is at present not different from the journey that many Liberals politicians have taken over time, his intellectual journey may not be so much of an issue in Quebec.  But his recent and ongoing role as neocon shill and bought academic may be a bigger problem in a province where one can get hundreds of thousands of people to an anti-war protest in Montreal.  At least, I hope it is a bigger problem, and I hope even more fervently that it will shortly be a nonissue---by his defeat.  Though I don't have my hopes up.