The Charest government is abysmally unpopular and plagued by allegations of scandals. The odds heavily favour the opposition Parti Québécois, which would normally be expected to form a majority government in the next election, if only because after three disappointing Liberal mandates, the voters will probably want a change. So, shouldn’t the Péquistes be happy? Well, no, they’re not. They’re engaged in a noisy exercise of squabbling and bickering among themselves.
The hard-liners accuse party leader Pauline Marois of being too soft about sovereignty, and some are calling for Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe to replace her, while other groups of activists bitterly complain about Ms. Marois’s poor personal showing in polls – despite the fact that if an election were held today, she would most probably lead her party to victory.
Is the party prone to masochism? This is what sensible observers would conclude, unless they are familiar with the PQ’s history. The Péquistes are congenitally prone to internal dissent. And all their quarrels, whether they are over ideology or strategy, unfold in public, to the great delight of the media. The Péquistes are also known for the vicious way they treat their leaders. Lucien Bouchard left politics, in part, because he could no longer stand his party’s militants.
True, Ms. Marois is not a popular figure. But the fact is that in Quebec, being an Opposition leader is a tough and unrewarding job. Since 1976, all Opposition leaders have had bad ratings in the months preceding their victories. It was the case for René Lévesque in 1976, Robert Bourassa in 1985, Jacques Parizeau in 1994 and Jean Charest in 2003. Yet despite low ratings, each led his party to victory. Yet Ms. Marois is the only Opposition leader in the past 34 years to be judged so harshly. Could it be because she’s a woman?
Like so many female politicians, Ms. Marois is criticized in various quarters for contradictory reasons. She is either too soft or too aggressive, too much of a sovereigntist or not enough of a sovereigntist. She is alternatively accused of dressing too elegantly or accused of hiding her personal wealth. I even heard someone say that being blonde works against her.
Former premier Jacques Parizeau – the only leader in the PQ’s history who escaped the wrath of the hard-liners, because he is one himself – recently gave a TV interview in which he lauded Gilles Duceppe while not even mentioning Ms. Marois. This was the signal for the rebellion to begin.
The funny thing is that Mr. Duceppe’s views, when it comes to strategy, are quite similar to those of Ms. Marois. Both leaders believe the PQ shouldn’t threaten voters with the prospect of an early referendum, since poll after poll shows a huge majority of Quebeckers want a referendum as much as they want an epidemic of cholera.
Another funny thing – and this shows how volatile public opinion can be – is that as recently as three years ago, Mr. Duceppe was much less popular than Ms. Marois. After Bernard Landry resigned from the PQ leadership, Mr. Duceppe started campaigning to succeed him, but he backed off when a newspaper trumpeted a poll that showed Ms. Marois was ahead of him by 11 points. This lame retreat should have cast serious doubts on his stamina, but apparently it didn’t, since some Péquistes now see him as their saviour – as if a party that has a good chance of winning the next election needed a saviour.