Re: Eh?
"The more left wing of us have never forgiven Napoleon for losing at Waterloo..."
Then the more left wing of us should brush up on their history. Has it escaped your attention that, at the time of Waterloo, Napoleon had been Emperor of the French *and King of Italy* for over a decade? He made his brother Joseph King of Spain, and showered titles on his family, his marshals, and everyone else of whom he approved. Napoleon was no more anti-royal or democratic than the Hanoverian kings of England or the Bourbons. He just aimed to replace the Bourbons with his own dynasty. (And, incidentally, an emperor outranks a king).
I can't recall the exact wording, but when some Italian snob asked Napoleon about his ancestry, he replied to the effect that it didn't matter from whom he was descended; what mattered was that, in future, his descendants would be top dogs.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
