Sovereignty, PQ’s lifeline

As it looms on October 3, the leader of the Parti Québécois has chosen to put sovereignty back at the fore.

Long softened and even avoided by previous leaders, the country project managed by Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon could very well be the PQ’s lifeline.

Talk rationally first

As it happens Jump to 2022, on TVA, I criticized Paul St-Pierre Plamondon for his preachy tone by suggesting on Twitter that he be more “punchy.” With hindsight, I believe his voice was right and he made his choice going forward.

By talking up the sovereign option as a logical choice, the PQ leader is doing something many before him have ignored, fearing to unnerve voters accustomed to the popular referendum “intimidation”.

For St-Pierre Plamondon, the country project is not a taboo, but a lack of autonomy against Ottawa, whose cause is a clear solution to multiple problems that are always the same.

Save the Parti Québécois

Even though the last time sovereignty attracted much interest during the 1995 referendum, since then all the leaders have stopped rocking the boat to avoid drowning.

When Pierre Karl Péladeau raised his fist in 2014, his gesture was quickly dismissed as an impulsive error rather than an example of passionate commitment. We know the rest.

The stance and tone of the PSPP set the PQ apart in this campaign. The Parti Québécois is the only true sovereigntist option.

Although QS claims to be sovereign, the majority of the electorate is suddenly a party that qualifies as “Left” above all else.

To mobilize its voters, the solution of open, tolerant and rigorous pedagogy proposed by Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon will save the PQ.