He compared himself to Cinderella. It is rather his Asterix side that seems to bear fruit.
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After keeping Quebec political life in suspense with his crusade against the oath to the king, after having suffered the opprobrium by proposing to send the Sûreté du Québec to Roxham Road, the leader of the Parti Québécois embarked on international diplomacy.
Without sacrificing his image as an idealistic choir boy, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has shown that he is not lacking in nerve. On the contrary, he cultivates it. It has become his political weapon.
Conquest
Despite the taunts of his opponents, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon flew away, serene, for Europe on Thursday evening. He was even enthusiastic, carried by the conviction of his rendezvous with history.
His party has only three deputies. He only has two questions a week at the Blue Room. Regardless, he is in conquest mode, that of credibility on the international scene.
England, to indulge himself and argue against the oath to King Charles at Oxford University, where he studied.
Scotland, to build ties with THE strongest independence movement in Europe.
Belgium, to meet Catalan separatist leaders in exile.
Paris, to walk in the footsteps of René Lévesque, and for the eventual recognition of an independent Quebec by the most important French-speaking power in the world.
There is a Don Quixote side to claiming to sell Quebec sovereignty when his own party is struggling to survive.
But that’s the bet of the PSPP tactic.
Act like
The saga of the oath to the king has taught us an important lesson about the strategy of the leader of the Parti Québécois.
He is not afraid of ridicule. On the contrary, he embraces it, tames it, makes it an ally.
Because the ridicule of the first day reveals the idealism of his proposal.
This is how, by dint of pretending that the Parti Québécois is on the doorstep of sovereignty, it hopes to convince us of its renewed relevance.
The dramatic staging of his failed attempt to enter the National Assembly. It was that of a Quebec knocking its nose at the gates of Canada.
His emotional triumph, on the day of the return to parliament when he took his seat, was his “great day”, if not a “great evening”.
Its solution to Roxham Road is not that of a province being held hostage by a crippled federal government. It is that of a sovereign Quebec. Send the SQ to force the hand of the Americans, as if Quebec were already a country.
His diplomatic journey in Europe is preparing for the aftermath of a winning referendum. Because to be consecrated, the sovereignty of Quebec needs international recognition. And this must be prepared.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon acts as if independence had the wind in its sails. He thus breaks with his predecessors who tried to be inspiring while behaving like losers.
So far, the recipe is working.
Condemned to the margins of the official debates of the National Assembly, he succeeded in imposing his themes, his option.
The challenge will be to remain credible, not to fall into caricature.