Sean Gordon
Quebec Bureau Chief
MONTREAL–It was billed as a clash of sovereignist titans, but in a stunning flip-flop Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe has dropped out of the race to lead the provincial Parti Québécois scarcely 24 hours after announcing his entry.
Duceppe issued a statement early yesterday evening saying that "after analyzing the weekend's events" he has decided to rally behind former provincial cabinet minister Pauline Marois, who polls show is a heavy favourite to head the party.
Indeed, a poll published in yesterday's La Presse showed Marois to be the favoured choice of 45 per cent of voters, whereas Duceppe lagged at 21 per cent.
Also, the CROP survey showed Marois would handily defeat the opposition Action démocratique, which has led the opinion polls since last March's election.
Duceppe and his inner circle spent yesterday working the phones and it dawned on them that many people who had pledged their support were reconsidering. So at about 5 p.m., Duceppe phoned Marois to say he would be withdrawing.
While Duceppe's supporters had insisted that their support was strong among PQ members, the poll confirmed the perception that Marois is considerably more saleable in the electorate.
Coupled with the open resistance demonstrated by PQ caucus members this week – half a dozen publicly said Duceppe should stay in federal politics – the Bloc leader's campaign was off to a wobbly start.
In his statement, Duceppe, 59, acknowledged as much.
"The large and rapid accumulation of support for Pauline Marois within the Parti Québécois, the Bloc Québécois and the population in general makes it such that it is my duty to spare the sovereignist movement a confrontation that could create division, and therefore weakness," he wrote. "The message `Pauline in Quebec and Gilles in Ottawa' has also resonated."
Duceppe pledged his "unconditional" support to Marois.
Party sources said that part of Duceppe's reasoning in announcing on Friday was that it would pressure Marois, 58, not to run. The two were supposed to meet yesterday to discuss their respective plans, a meeting that was called off when Duceppe called Marois on Friday to say he would be running.
Indeed, the former provincial finance and education minister said she was pained and surprised by Duceppe's call – during which she informed him of her leadership bid, which she announced publicly minutes later – and the two camps wasted little time before starting to snipe at one another.
Marois will officially unveil her candidacy today, and is expected to be flanked by more than a dozen PQ caucus members and a cadre of party heavyweights.
In the end, the Bloc leader apparently decided that a humiliating reversal was preferable to a humiliating defeat.
The move shocked several party insiders, who described it as unprecedented and risky for Duceppe, whose leadership of the Bloc will likely be weakened.
Duceppe said he will continue to lead the sovereignist forces in Ottawa, and will ask his caucus to reiterate its confidence.
A Marois spokesperson said Marois saluted Duceppe's courage and sense of responsibility.
The PQ's top job was vacated last week by former leader André Boisclair, who quit in the face of a mutiny that gathered steam after the party's disastrous third-place showing in the March 26 election.
Now the speculation will centre on several other would-be candidates who may be tempted to put their names forward in order to avoid a coronation – there is a burgeoning consensus within the party that a contested leadership is required.
