OTTAWA - Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe says there's no truth to a report that he plans to retire as head of the sovereigntist party after the next federal election.
Duceppe said the report in Montreal La Presse on Tuesday is "completely ridiculous."
La Presse reported Duceppe told close colleagues of his plans.
"I can't understand how someone can act with so little rigour," said Duceppe, who denied he ever made the comment. "If a politician acted in the same way as this journalist, he'd be denounced -- and rightly so."
Duceppe, who has led the Bloc for a decade, says he is preparing for a possible fall election just like the other federal party leaders.
There have been threats from some leaders -- including Duceppe -- to bring down Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government if they are not satisfied with the speech from the throne on Oct. 16.
Duceppe posed Tuesday for a new campaign photograph and prepared for the next Bloc national council meeting, to be held in two weeks in Trois-Rivieres, Que. He will face a confidence vote.
"I'm going to say to them, 'Give me your support and I'll leave the day after the election?'" Duceppe said, returning to the report of his impending retirement.
"That makes no sense. That is not logical."
Bloc members lined up behind Duceppe in support on Tuesday and decried the newspaper report, saying it was the work of the Bloc's enemies.
Duceppe has maintained the support of his caucus even after a brief flirtation with the idea of jumping to provincial politics to lead the Parti Quebecois earlier this year.
He bowed out of that race after 24 hours and threw his support behind Pauline Marois, who eventually became leader.
