Gilles Duceppe stunned the Quebec political world Saturday by quietly pulling out of the race to become head of the Parti Québécois just a day after he said he would run.The Bloc Québécois leader, 59, said he's throwing his support behind Pauline Marois."It's time for a woman, and one of quality, to come in to lead the Parti Québécois, then Quebec," Duceppe said. He said his job to make sure the message of Quebec sovereignty was not divided or weakened."We need to renew the dialogue of sovereigntist movement with Quebecers," Duceppe said Saturday in a release. "From the moment I decided to enter the Parti Québécois leadership race, I was —and I still am — eminently convinced that I could make an important contribution as Parti Québécois leader."Duceppe said he hoped to continue to work towards advancing the cause of Quebec sovereignty as Bloc leader in Ottawa, adding he intended to ask Bloc MPs on Monday to reiterate their confidence in his leadership. Marois, 58, resigned from politics in 2006 after losing her second leadership race in a drawn-out battle with André Boisclair that lasted most of 2005. Boisclair resigned as leader earlier this week.
A PQ member for more than 30 years, Marois is intimately linked with the party's story. Marois worked as a press attaché for Jacques Parizeau when he was provincial finance minister in the 1970s; she was elected to the national assembly in 1981. Marois made her first run for the leadership in 1985 after René Lévesque resigned. Marois was defeated in the 1985 election, but re-elected in 1989, 1994, 1998 and 2003. She held the province's most important portfolios — including finance, health and education — while the PQ was in power in the 1990s. Marois told reporters in Montreal on Friday she hopes her third try for the leadership is a charm. "I'm doing this to win," she said. "I hope we will be able to reconnect with the population of Quebec, because we had an important problem on March 26 [the Quebec election].
A PQ member for more than 30 years, Marois is intimately linked with the party's story. Marois worked as a press attaché for Jacques Parizeau when he was provincial finance minister in the 1970s; she was elected to the national assembly in 1981. Marois made her first run for the leadership in 1985 after René Lévesque resigned. Marois was defeated in the 1985 election, but re-elected in 1989, 1994, 1998 and 2003. She held the province's most important portfolios — including finance, health and education — while the PQ was in power in the 1990s. Marois told reporters in Montreal on Friday she hopes her third try for the leadership is a charm. "I'm doing this to win," she said. "I hope we will be able to reconnect with the population of Quebec, because we had an important problem on March 26 [the Quebec election].
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