Sniping from the pages

And the similarities certainly don't end there.

Despite their allegiances to opposing parties, there is no question that these two Quebec-born political mavericks have much in common. Both rose from humble beginnings in the small working-class towns of Baie Comeau and Shawinigan, respectively, to serve their country through what could best be described as colourful mandates fraught with controversy and nasty business.

After retreating back into the relatively safe shelter of private life, these two former heads of state have both recently jumped back into the public eye as authors of books that focus on their years on Parliament Hill.

Mr. Mulroney has gone through the publicity mill twice, first two years ago as the unwitting subject of 'The Secret Mulroney Tapes', Peter C. Newman's warts-and-all biography, and more recently as the author of the massive 'Memoirs', an official autobiography that took full advantage of the opportunity to settle old political scores — particularly with Lucien Bouchard and Pierre Trudeau.

Now it is Mr. Chrétien's turn, and he too lashes out from the pages of 'My Years as Prime Minister' to serve up a nicely chilled plate of revenge to those who locked horns with him — his successor, Paul Martin, foremost among them.

This form of literary revenge is certainly nothing new, but it works well. People love to read about the real-life conflicts that develop and are carried out behind the heavy closed doors of Parliament. And with such colourful protagonists as Mulroney and Chrétien as narrators, the premise is irresistible. All the publishers have to do is sign the contract and rub their hands together in gleeful anticipation, knowing they have an instant bestseller on the way.

Does this mean that the shelves of our local bookstores might soon be graced with even more tell-all political autobiographies written by retired, often disgruntled politicians who still have an axe to grind? Let's hope so.

Who knows? Perhaps André Boiclair is preparing to sit down at his computer and tap out his ultimate revenge on former PQ colleagues — once all the knife wounds have healed, that is.