Conrad's conviction: Lord Black's blackest day

BY JOSEPH PLANTA

Monday, 16 July 2007

VANCOUVER - There ought not to be any glee at the predicament of Conrad Black. Many will argue that he's deserving of his fate, as he was much responsible for it, still it's a horrendous fall for one who so dominated our media and political landscape, and who never failed to taunt the country so.

That the guilty verdict from the former media baron's fraud trial has elicited much discussion, as well as glee from his detractors is no surprise. Black, at the trial's outset, proclaimed his innocence vociferously, promising that at the trial's conclusion he would return to the country of his birth, Canada, of which he was no longer a citizen, to celebrate his innocence, and doubtless get even with those who were fair-weather in their friendship and those who sought his conviction just because they didn't like the colourful, outspoken, and once-powerful media mogul.

His trial in Chicago, though hardly eliciting much American interest, was a spectacle worth covering for Canadian media outlets. Long the bete noir of the Canadian left, and those in politics and the media that Black spurned through his many media holdings, Black's uncomfortable predicament was a source of much schadenfreude, both conspicuous and not so veiled. His surprising optimism (or delusion perhaps) in the face of much harassment from the American regulatory authorities, not to mention press, was brazen, astonishing, and at times pathetic. The prospect that Black could do hard time titillates many. The chance that Black could doff his ermine House of Lords robes for standard issue orange-coloured prison garb, already excites many who equated his acceptance of a British peerage as a mere exercise in playing dress-up.

Black was a polarising figure, and remains so after his conviction. The jury of his peers who found him guilty were polarised, much like those that Black encountered here and abroad, taking over ten days to struggle with his fate. On the ubiquitous internet phenomenon Facebook, Black supporters are donning proverbial black armbands in support of a man who shattered the Canadian consensus and was conservatisms and capitalisms staunchest defender. (Some are even encouraging others to send Black personal letters of support. Admittedly, I thought of it, but quickly perished the thought. Though I've always admired his writing, and his stamina in the face of much public humiliation and discredit, years ago when the going was good for Black, I wrote him an admittedly gushing letter, to which I never received a response. That I am as thin-skinned as Black is perhaps a compliment to him.)

The news reports are saying that Black could get up to 35 years in prison. He's said nothing since the guilty verdict, but as some have said, he'll perhaps rationalise by saying he wasn't guilty of all 42 charges, but a mere six, still a reasonable average. If he does have to serve hard time, it'll be most unfortunate he won't be able to serve any of his sentence in Canada, as he'd renounced his Canadian citizenship in order to accept his peerage.

The lesson of the Black saga, which is far from over, is that the bigger one is, the harder the fall. Black played big, taking over a large chunk of the press in this country, being a player in the media scene in Britain, and attempting to break into the United States, and with his conviction he lost big. His reputation as a businessman-the Establishment Man, as Peter C. Newman dubbed him with the title of a full-scale biography when he was a mere 37-is tarnished. Hal Jackman, a long-time friend of Black, said he'd never lead a public company again, but he could emerge as a man of letters. His hefty biography of Richard Nixon, released in the midst of his trial was a noted in the press and in bookstore sales. His previous book on Franklin Roosevelt was lauded, not to mention his book on Duplessis cemented his credentials as a writer, if not an academic.

But this conviction hangs over his head now and the rest of his life. It's a sad state of affairs, considering what an influential and powerful man he once was, who could have marshalled his substantial acumen for greater good and not merely his own, or his wife Barbara Amiel's lavish couture and Manolo Blahnik collections.

Years ago, Black said the journalist Linda McQuaig was in need of a horsewhip. A few months ago, while the trial was in full swing, I asked McQuaig in an interview, if she felt any glee toward Black's very public predicament. She said there was no glee on her part, but that he'd deserved a good horsewhipping.

There are many other foes spurned by the Blacks who obviously feel the same. They'll argue he deserves worse, but it's a reflection of ourselves that Black elicits these feelings. Canadians it seems don't like those who note our own shortcomings. We seem to have this unnecessary envy of the rich and successful. There is this loathing of those who challenge whatever prevailing consensus there is in the country, be it in politics or journalism, or any other field of endeavour.

Black often noted what ailed the country to the bane of those who were responsible for the inertia, as well as those who seemingly accepted it. He was the bane of those who seemingly resented the fact he curried the favour of the likes of Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and Margaret Thatcher. And with his remaking of the media landscape in this country, not to mention his affecting of our political culture, with his creation of the National Post, he seemed to realise he was practically asking for the derision he got from what he regarded an ungrateful nation.

The end to the Conrad Black story is far from over. That it's been both bold and triumphant, as well as tragic and ignominious makes his such a remarkable life. His conviction is merely another fascinating chapter of which there will be more. Whether he'll emerge a different person, perhaps humbler, is unclear, as he's constantly surprised us throughout his noted and notable life. What's clear is that we've not heard the last, and perhaps hopefully, there will be some revival or rebound if only so we're able to destroy our protagonist (or antagonist, depending on your point of view) all over again. For that's what made Conrad Black a fantastic story all these years-and his trial so sensational-he's managed to surprise and fascinate us despite it all.

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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE.