WASHINGTON - Michael Ignatieff has caught the attention of the New York Times, serving as the subject of a largely fawning profile Sunday that described the Liberal leader as a keen intellect waiting in the wings to assume power.
"His ascendancy puts his country on the cusp of an unusual moment, in some ways a throwback to the era of the dashing Pierre Trudeau, another smart-set intellectual who served as prime minister," the Times' Eric Konigsberg wrote.
The Toronto-placelined piece, under the headline "Running on Charm and Book Sense," delves into Ignatieff's unconventional upbringing and his rise in power just three years after entering politics.
"Mr. Ignatieff's life story is positively novelistic in its detail," Konigsberg writes.
"His father, George Ignatieff, was a Canadian diplomat, and his grandfather and great-grandfather were both Russian counts who served as cabinet ministers in the czarist government. His mother's brother, George Grant, was a famous political philosopher."
The piece, on the front of the paper's Fashion and Style section, was picked up by the Manhattan media blog Gawker, which asked: "Is Michael Ignatieff Canada's Barack Obama?" under the subhead "Canadawesome."
"All hail Iggy!" read the post.
In addition to his intellectual background and his writing acumen, Gawker pointed out that just like the new American president, Ignatieff has heartily embraced modern technology to reach out to his supporters.
He's joined Twitter, a micro-blogging site that features short status updates by its users. The Liberal leader's latest tweet was from Jan. 28, when he wrote he was putting Prime Minister Stephen Harper "on probation."
The 61-year-old Ignatieff is also on Facebook, his page regularly updated with statements, news, video and Flickr photos.
Nonetheless, comparisons to Obama make the Liberal leader uncomfortable.
"There's only one Obama," Ignatieff has said.
Privately, he disdains such parallels, saying any politician perceived as trying to emulate the popular president makes himself a target of mockery.
Book explores relationship with U.S.
And in fact, Ignatieff has adopted many of Harper's tactics -- not Obama's -- in terms of message discipline and rebuilding his party. He has instructed his caucus that they are to speak publicly with one voice: his.
In the eight weeks since he was acclaimed Liberal leader, Ignatieff has also installed his own people on the party's executive, dismissed loyalists to Stephane Dion in the opposition leader's office and cleaned house in the Liberal Research Bureau.
Politically, the Times piece suggests Ignatieff has taken some stances that are diametrically opposed to Obama's. It recalls, for example, the Liberal leader's onetime support of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and his public defence of torture.
"He has openly acknowledged, without much self-censorship, regret over his initial support of the Iraq war and has movingly -- if painfully -- wrung his hands in print, most notably in the New York Times Magazine, over both the decision and his ensuing volte-face," Konigsberg wrote.
The article mentions that Ignatieff's next book, "True Patriot Love: Four Generations in Search of Canada," will be published in late April.
The Liberal leader told the Times that the book explores a common preoccupation in Canada -- its relationship with the United States, the country he called home for five years.
"Every generation, they are all obsessed with the idea of how to maintain a Canadian empire in the face of America, this behemoth right next door," Ignatieff said.
