Graeme Hamilton MONTREAL -The Bloc Quebecois' new leader, Daniel Paille, is an economist, not a poet, so when he was looking to weave something lyrical into Sunday's victory speech, he needed help. The speakers boomed Gerry Boulet's Toujours vivant (Still Alive) as Mr. Paille took the stage, and he began his speech by adapting the song's words.
The Bloc "is still standing and will go right to the end," he said. "The Bloc Quebecois is still alive, and we have to look forward." (In Mr. Boulet's defence, the lines rhyme in French: Le Bloc Quebecois est toujours vivant, pis il faut regarder en avant.)
Aside from the fact that "not dead yet" does not rank highly among inspirational messages, there is another issue with using Mr. Boulet's song as a rallying cry. As La Presse political columnist Vincent Marissal points out, the author of this particular "hymn to life" died too young. Mr. Boulet had been diagnosed with cancer when he
wrote the song, and he would die two years after it came out, at age 44. To Mr. Marissal, the song selection brought back memories of the Progressive Conservatives playing I Will Survive after Joe Clark returned to lead the party in 1998. We know how that turned out.
Though it is surely unintentional, there is something fitting about the Bloc's adoption of Toujours vivant as its fight song. After the May 2 federal election that saw the party reduced to four seats from 47 and leader Gilles Duceppe turfed, the party's situation is dire. Like the peasant trying to avoid the death cart in Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- "I'm not dead.... I'm getting better" -- the Bloc is desperate to prove that voters acted rashly.
But Mr. Paille, who lost his seat in east-end Montreal to an NDP rookie last May, has his work cut out for him. He has told interviewers he intends to return to the base, concentrating on local media and community meetings to persuade them that Quebec does not belong in Canada. He is not even sure whether he will try to win a seat if a byelection occurs before the next general election in 2015. Since the Conservatives won their majority, he said in his speech, Quebec is being treated as "less than nothing" by Ottawa. He called Prime Minister Stephen Harper a "pyromaniac" for ending the firearms registry, a move that is "an insult to Quebec values."
But despite the many well-publicized affronts to Quebec since May 2, the Bloc faithful reacted with a yawn. The leadership race did nothing to revive the party. After the election, the Bloc had 50,000 members. Of those, 13,600 did not bother to renew their memberships in time to vote for a new leader and another 22,000 eligible voters did not mail in their ballots. In other words, just 38% of eligible voters and 28% of those who were Bloc members on May 3 took part in the choice of a new leader.
The bigger problem for Mr. Paille is that at the moment the Bloc is on the sidelines as the sovereignty movement's fate is determined in Quebec City. The Parti Quebecois under Pauline Marois continues to unravel. Far from forming the next government and preparing the way for a referendum, the PQ seems headed to a resounding defeat, according to polls. Francois Legault's Coalition avenir Quebec, already the preferred choice of Quebecers, is set to strengthen this week as it absorbs the Action democratique du Quebec. The new party, which proposes a 10-year break from the sovereignty debate, is also expected to draw four independent MNAs. When the National Assembly resumes sitting in February, the CAQ will likely have an eight-member caucus before contesting a single election.
If the PQ loses the next election and dreams of a third referendum are dashed, the Bloc case for a continued presence in Ottawa evaporates. Mr. Paille says he is not interested in simply defending Quebec's interests but wants to move Quebec toward independence. A PQ defeat would make that job impossible.
The Gerry Boulet anthem chosen by Mr. Paille offers a message of hope in the face of terrible adversity. But in the end, forces beyond Mr. Boulet's control robbed him of his life. The Bloc, too, may learn that defiance and perseverance are not always enough.
ghamilton@nationalpost.com