Adieu Boisclair

It really wasn't much of a surprise that André Boisclair was going to step down as leader of the Parti Québécois. A third place showing in the March elections made it inevitable. What was the surprise was the timing -- as well as the first ever open sniping between the PQ and its federalist counterpart, the Bloc Québécois.

Reagan once warned his party's members, "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican," even if he or she disagreed profoundly with the object of their contempt. It's how it managed to win so many elections, letting the Democrats rip each other apart -- something the donkey didn't learn how to stop until last fall when they took back Congress. It's the similar kind of solidarity between the PQ and BQ over the last seventeen years that has ensured the separatists were able to stay on message.

I don't live in Québec so I can't pretend to know the truth behind the falling out. But I think there are two factors at play. First, the federal conservatives were able to appeal to part of the same base that Mulroney was able to work off of during the 1980s. Second, the shocking rise of Mario Dumont and L'action démocratique du Québec, with an -- at least on the surface -- pro-family agenda that clicked with a lot of people.

In other words, I think Boisclair tried to appeal to the centre and he just couldn't. Duceppe still has considerable clout and perhaps he thinks the continued presence of Boisclair will hurt the BQ when the next federal election is held. So, two points: One, Stéphane Dion -- federal Liberal leader -- needs to move fast and try to take advantage of the vacuum. He has a much better chance of getting votes in the province if he focuses as much on Afghanistan as he does on the environment. True, the separatists are also against the deployment but Dion needs to point out the Bloc will always have only a regional vision, not a national one. And two, minority governments don't usually last that long. Jean Charest has about another eighteen months as Premier at most before a no-confidence vote. Dion can't rely on all of Charest's foot soldiers as many are Conservatives federally any more than Charest can rely on the federal Liberals, some of whom actually voted ADQ.

The key here: Work the refs. Appear in the media, appear often and attack their bias. Harper knew how. So did Dumont.

Boisclair couldn't (or didn't know how). Dion needs to be out there and more often. Mainstream as well as online.

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