And, since I'm reading the Globe, I might as well note this story:
Let me say, first I don't feel bad for the new leader of the Bloc (Daniel Paillé). He has his work cut out for him but I suspect that the Bloc has some life left in it yet. And, he does have a committed core group of followers.
What I might says is that Paillé is a left over from the Parizeau PQ regime, a hard core separatist who uses a Parizeau type discourse. His election is not surprising. After all ... who else was the BQ going to elect? They really only have their hard core left. Historically, parties reduced to their hard core will often go with a proven product, someone whose public statements and politics are predictable. Politically, this is makes sense: a party looking to rebuild does not want to loose canon but someone who can stick to point and garner time to re-energize activists. This is true whether one is a supporter of independence for Quebec or not. The federal Liberals did the same thing in picking Bob Rae to lead the charge while they figure out what to do.
What interests me is the language he continues to mobilize about "insults" to Quebec values. Does this language of insulting Quebec "play" any more? Does it appeal to the disaffected voter in Three Rivers? Or, the under-employed university grad in Quebec City? He believes it and so does the hard core, but does anyone else?
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