Irresistible

It's his way. He just cannot help himself. In the sense that any time he opens his mouth he does himself irreparable harm. Never more so than now, when he stands accused of some very serious charges in an American court of law. But the man is so besotted with himself, so very personally secure in his sense of himself, that whatever he engages in is right, that because he is who he is he can do no wrong, that whatever he does is memorable and honourable, despite evidence to the contrary by the yardstick of civil society, that his megalomania hangs him.

"I don't think any jury in the world would convict anybody on the basis of what he said," claimed Lord Black post-David Radler testimony in the criminal case brought against Black. "As a star witness, I repeat my longstanding view that this was never a criminal case, except possibly against him." His overweening self-respect guaranteed to earn him the back-slap he deserves, but not quite as he envisions it. Yes, his lawyers cautioned him against speaking, but what do they know?

He simply is incapable of restraining himself. His self-congratulatory triumphalism even in the face of the impending jury decision that will certainly curtail his life style immeasurably - beyond anything his imagination could construe - is truly an amazing exercise in denial and self-adulation. Humility on any scale has eluded this man. His overbearing confidence is slated to deliver him into a huge slideback, for who is foolish enough to think that any jury will not convict him?

This man unblushingly, and with full cognizance of the fact that he was engaging in an illegal, underhanded act, took into his personal holdings funds of a nature meant to enrich the coffers of the corporation he was a part of. It is the shareholders of that group he represents who were entitled to the additional extraction of funds through 'non-compete' payments, not his Lordship and company.

Conrad Black is accused by the U.S. government, along with his co-accused, of misappropriating the slight sum of $60 million in bonuses, disguised as non-compete payments from Hollinger International through the sale of newspaper assets in Canada and the United States. Anyone else, any lesser being would be humiliated, disgraced, repentant, fearful of the authority of the law. Not he.

He, instead, asserts that his long-time confidant and business partner, turned states evidence - David Radler - did not have "any credibility". But he, Lord Black has. He's also being charged with tax evasion. Oh dear. How dreadfully unfair.

This is a hugely intelligent man. A talented man. A man with flair and vision, great business acumen. A man purported by those who know and like him, to be an affable, nice person, in person. A social climber, yes indeed, but that doesn't necessarily disqualify him or anyone else from the 'nice' category. Pitiful, perhaps.

Too bad he has an under-developed conscience, a lapsed ethical consciousness, the added impediment of being a total snob. But we can relate to that.

Pity that his hubris blinds him to his vulnerability.