Boisclair out, Duceppe (about to be) in

Très dommage que c'est TOUT ce qu'elle signifie à vos yeux malgré tout ce qu'elle a fait pour faire avancer la cause des femmes. Bizarre. Je connais plusieurs féministes indépendantistes qui reconnaissent l'oeuvre de Thérèse Casgrain par exemple, même si elle était plutôt fédéraliste. Mais je ne crois pas que les questions sociales vous intepellent particulièrement. Tandis que l'ADQ est un parti réac, homophobe et a relents xénophobes - quelque chose dont toute personne saine d'esprit ne devrait pas souhaiter l'émergence...

I don't vote for bourgeois parties - whether the Libs or the PQ. Why would I vote for rich people intent on exploiting me?

So I don't really vote on the basis of the national question, eh? I vote Québec solidaire in Québec elections, NDP in federal ones.

Well if you vote for Quebec Solidaire, we probably disagree on more than just the sovereignty issue...

Yes, probably on far more fundamental things. I don't just vote for Québec solidaire, I'm a founding member. Before the party had actually taken a position on the national question. I know several federalists who belong - and non sovereignists who have stood as QS candidates, just as I know more than one sovereignist who ran for the NDP. There are other issues far more important to me than whether Québec becomes an independent country or not. And I suspect that there are many "sovereignists" and "federalists" in Québec who would prefer some kind of other arrangement. Think the same range of opinions can be found in Scotland, Catalonia, the Basque Country ... and among Aborginal peoples who are of course the most downtrodden by all colonising peoples and levels of government.

I don't hang out on travel boards to discuss politics - I'm on other boards for that, now for the organisation of the Forum social québécois (Québec social forum). I'm on travel boards to help travellers and get advice from others.

#24, are you comparing Quebecois to aboriginal people in Australia, or in Canada for that matter? Seriously?

No. Of course not!

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<hr> and among Aborginal peoples who are of course the most downtrodden by all colonising peoples and levels of government.
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"All colonising people" includes the French and their heirs, eh?

The comparison was to other "nations" in the sociological sense (Scotland, Catalonia, Euskadi...) within larger States, where there is some sort of independentist or autonomist movement. And I deliberately chose nations of the same "race" as the dominant group within the State. I was talking about the range of opinions within such nations as to whether sovereignty, some kind of associate status, or the status quo would be the best solution.

Not about the ethnocide against Aboriginal peoples. The only possible equivalent as concerns "white" Francophones is Le Grand Dérangement, the deportation of the Acadians - and yes, some did die at sea and in transit. The Métis rebellions were ruthlessly put down, but ethnic cleansing of Aboriginal people played at least as big a part in that as anti-French bigotry did.

When I said "Aboriginal peoples" I meant that there was and is a wide range of views as to the best "national" or "constitutional" solution for their deplorable situation, among those peoples. This from someone who has quite a bit of experience with the politics of First Nations.

And did you seriously think I was comparing those very different situations, or are you just being an angryphone antagonist?

Duceppe is now backtracking... his run lasted a mere 24 hours. Now that's staying power, ladies and gentlemen...

More on this story from the Globe and Mail: Duceppe has changed his mind, and Pauline Marois speaks out about the old boy's network's backroom tactics against a woman candidate: Duceppe decides against PQ leadership bid. - as in many political parties, misogyny remains an undercurrent.

Duceppe doesn't come across as particularly serious in this, to put it mildly, and certainly not "a team player". (Comes across as a flake, to be blunt). He has a reputation as someone who is not willing to listen or compromise, and I think a lot of people are sick of that kind of "great leader". Marois has a much better reputation in that sense as someone who listens to others, even "across the table" (in public sector negotiations, in dealings with other levels of government or with representatives of other political parties.

I spoke to quite a few feminists about this, none of whom are in the PQ (and who have a range of opinions as to sovereignty/federalism etc) and they are all rather pleased by this turnaround.

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<hr>they are all rather pleased by this turnaround. <hr></blockquote>
Me too, as always I am in solidarity with my sisters.
Glad to see Duceppe remain as leader of the Bloc, next election will be his sixth I think, and the party is going nowhere at this time. The universe is unfolding as it should.

Solidarity with my sisters ... (you did not tell me that you had a sex change)