Yes! He Will - No! He Will Not...
On again, off again, a reflection of sorts of the hot-and-cold reception those legendarily committed/uncommitted; certain/uncertain Quebecers give to the prospect of the final separation, of striking out on their own, of becoming, finally, completely autonomous, masters in their own house. They feel aggrieved, unappreciated, they're ready to wave their farewells and leave confederation. They think about it a little further and step back from the precipice, for who, after all, will then guarantee them transfer payments and extraordinary entitlements to shore up their vaunted way of life as part of this great country?
No sooner does the Parti Quebecois spit out its much-acclaimed, spirited new leader of eighteen months in a paroxysm of dismay over their dismal showing at the polls in March, then out come the eager aspirants for the provincial leadership. Two days ago - cripes, one day ago - there were two contenders for the job. The unfortunate Andre Boisclair, who cried foul at his perception of interference from the Bloc Quebecois, and more specifically Gilles Duceppe, left to lick his wounds, leaving the field open for that same Mr. Duceppe. Who defied the skeptics claiming he wouldn't vie for the job if Pauline Marois, three-time leadership contender threw in her flowery hat.
But he did, and then she did. Defying the absurd impression voiced so confidently by some onlookers that she would politely stand back and allow Mr. Duceppe to be anointed. To the post she is so obviously desirous of obtaining for herself. And she was the recipient of much encouragement, with more than aplenty signals of support from the PQ caucus. That same caucus that considered Gilles Duceppe's style of authoritarian dogmatism not to their politically anarchic taste. "What the Parti Quebecois needs the most is a leader who will impose discipline, who will give certain people a kick in the derriere," the Bloc's Louis Plamondon helpfully declared.
But in the final analysis it would appear that the confident Gilles Duceppe lost a bit of his self-confidence in the face of observable support for his rival from the party he sought to take over and make over in his own image. Abandoning the security and comfort of his federal party's leadership began to look like an awkwardly poor decision, calling for additional feedback and discussion. It would be dreadfully embarrassing, after all, to leave the Bloc and then still not end up as leader of the PQ. So, despite that he "shares the PQ dream of achieving sovereignty", he did an abrupt face-about.
Better to be safe, after all, than merely sorry. All of a sudden, it occurred to Mr. Duceppe that "It's my duty to avoid a clash that would divide and therefore weaken the sovereignty movement..." he declared nobly. In a statement issued late Saturday afternoon, Mr. Duceppe announced he is supporting the candidacy of Pauline Marois, rather than risk his own defeat - oops, sorry, that's not what he said - rather than risk dividing the party's loyalties between two such high-profile and deserving leadership aspirants.
His decision to withdraw was arrived at the same day La Presse published a CROP poll indicating Ms. Marois held a 45% to 21% lead in popular opinion. Compelling.
No sooner does the Parti Quebecois spit out its much-acclaimed, spirited new leader of eighteen months in a paroxysm of dismay over their dismal showing at the polls in March, then out come the eager aspirants for the provincial leadership. Two days ago - cripes, one day ago - there were two contenders for the job. The unfortunate Andre Boisclair, who cried foul at his perception of interference from the Bloc Quebecois, and more specifically Gilles Duceppe, left to lick his wounds, leaving the field open for that same Mr. Duceppe. Who defied the skeptics claiming he wouldn't vie for the job if Pauline Marois, three-time leadership contender threw in her flowery hat.
But he did, and then she did. Defying the absurd impression voiced so confidently by some onlookers that she would politely stand back and allow Mr. Duceppe to be anointed. To the post she is so obviously desirous of obtaining for herself. And she was the recipient of much encouragement, with more than aplenty signals of support from the PQ caucus. That same caucus that considered Gilles Duceppe's style of authoritarian dogmatism not to their politically anarchic taste. "What the Parti Quebecois needs the most is a leader who will impose discipline, who will give certain people a kick in the derriere," the Bloc's Louis Plamondon helpfully declared.
But in the final analysis it would appear that the confident Gilles Duceppe lost a bit of his self-confidence in the face of observable support for his rival from the party he sought to take over and make over in his own image. Abandoning the security and comfort of his federal party's leadership began to look like an awkwardly poor decision, calling for additional feedback and discussion. It would be dreadfully embarrassing, after all, to leave the Bloc and then still not end up as leader of the PQ. So, despite that he "shares the PQ dream of achieving sovereignty", he did an abrupt face-about.
Better to be safe, after all, than merely sorry. All of a sudden, it occurred to Mr. Duceppe that "It's my duty to avoid a clash that would divide and therefore weaken the sovereignty movement..." he declared nobly. In a statement issued late Saturday afternoon, Mr. Duceppe announced he is supporting the candidacy of Pauline Marois, rather than risk his own defeat - oops, sorry, that's not what he said - rather than risk dividing the party's loyalties between two such high-profile and deserving leadership aspirants.
His decision to withdraw was arrived at the same day La Presse published a CROP poll indicating Ms. Marois held a 45% to 21% lead in popular opinion. Compelling.
Labels: Canada, Inconvenient Politics
posted by Pieface | 5:28 PM
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