The international media, prone to yawning over Canadian political developments, is starting to take serious interest in the showdown between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Parliament Hill opponents.

The prestigious British weekly newsmagazine The Economist, which has a broad international reach, featured the political crisis in its latest print edition scheduled to hit newsstands Friday.

"There are no tanks in the streets or protesters occupying the airport, but Canada is in the midst of political turmoil the like of which this normally placid country has rarely seen," begins the article.

It is headlined A most un-Canadian caper.

The article was accompanied by an editorial cartoon showing Harper, dressed as a Mountie, holding his right hand up in a "halt" gesture. He's fending off Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, wielding a ski pole, and New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton, aggressively waving a hockey stick.

They are riding a snowmobile painted with the colours and design of the Canadian flag. Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, the size of a tiny boy, is being dragged behind them on a sled.

The Christian Science Monitor, a respected American publication that also has an international following, featured prominently on its website a photograph of Harper during his televised address to Canadians Wednesday evening.

"The current crisis points to further deterioration of the country's once-stable parliamentary democracy, which has been unravelling for several years in step with party fragmentation," stated the web article under the headline, "In Canada, Harper's government in crisis."

The Economist provided an unflattering portrayal of the Bloc-supported Liberal-NDP coalition seeking to form a government, noting Dion's poor performance in the recent federal election.

But there was considerable blame directed at Harper for sparking the crisis with his attempt to ban public sector strikes and cut off government funding for political parties.

Harper is a "control freak" who has been "damaged" by the controversy, according to The Economist.

Harper's "sudden stumble prompts the opposition to unite and could cause a change of government, a constitutional crisis-or both."

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