Politics: Fed / Que: AGWN analysis of BQ's Gilles Duceppe options in PQ leadership vacancy

Mega-blogger Angry in the Great White North lays out an analysis of Gilles Duceppe's options as a result of the vacuum opened in the Parti Québecois (the provinicial separatist party in Canada's chief francophone zone). Will Duceppe remain BQ or go PQ? I'd guess he'd do Better BQ, and his English slogan this summer could be BBQ, as it would work in both languages (you know, one of those anglicisms that so infect the French tongue to the great lamentation of the language police in la bell province). The official French acronym could be simply "Bon Bloc Québecois!" And the connotation of the new policy could be Duceppe's campaign to barbeque the Québec Federal Liberals in his / their home province.

Anyway, 's got a splendidly serendipitous analysis of the options for Duceppe at the moment. Stimulating! A number of the commenters to his post took off on wider themes. But, au contraire, these days I tend to return to my growing sense of the utter normalcy of living with sincere aggressive separatists parties in the political diversity of Canada. I regret that this preoccupies so much of the political energy, not just in Québec over the last 30 years, but in the whole country; but hey, this is Canada, eh? So it's normal that Canada may break up and that it already has parties in place to lead the complex process of the transition, at least that of the chief candidate for break-off. Already, geostrategic considerations have led to planning to get the armed forces structured and ready for a quiet transmission to a Québec regional central command of all Canadian Forces in the belle province, should the birth of a new full-fledged Q-State (l'État Q) actually happen. I feel no reason for an uproar. If they stay, Great! If they go, Good on them! Let's be friends, in that suddenly small space east of Ontario before you get to the Maritimes. After all, we'd need to be on exceptionally good terms with the intersecting entity in order to negotiate the live connections between the anglo (intersected) sections of the country Canada from Halifax to Vancouver. But that needn't be a misery, just an adaptation.

On the other hand, I want Canada to stay together, and to handle the anglophone / francophone differences differently - of course, it's not just a matter of a varying language-majority in the two zones. Language differences are to some great extent a short-hand for a host of cultural and value differences. But, it's precisely that reality that Canada can - or at least should - be able to handle with grace thru an acceptance of diversity. That's why I tend to feel that the Bloq Québecois, with the experienced Gilles Duceppe remaining at the helm, should not be demonized by the demonizer Martin and his demonizing Federal Liberal Party. The BQ should be normalized regarding all matters, except its vision of Québec's maturation into statehood, if that's what its people at some point come to choose. That latter should be left to political philosophical discussions, and all future adcampaigns to maintain "unity" by Federal purchase, should be made unconstitutional and criminal (pas plus des scandals des commandites!). In the meantime, Steven Harper's Tories and the BQ should work out a concordat, with Harper running several PC candidates in select ridings in Québec itself, where some Québecois / Quebeckers may want a Tory Member of Parliament in contrast to either a Bloquist or a Liberal. The Concordat should be established early and pave the way for the possiblity that the Tories and the BQ together provide the next Government of Canada, should the vote count in the end necessitate some such arrangment. Let the Bloq help the Opposition block another not-so-merry-go-round of Liberal government. - Owlb