QUEBEC - Parti Quebecois Leader Andre Boisclair secured support for his troubled leadership Saturday by extending olive branches to rival factions within his party.
Boisclair unveiled details of the PQ's next election platform at a meeting of party supporters in Quebec City that included 125 riding association presidents.
Promising to cut investment taxes while also maintaining social-democratic values, Boisclair reached out to both the PQ's traditional support base and those who want to see the party move toward the centre.
The riding chiefs have been among Boisclair's harshest critics in recent days as his leadership has been questioned amid declining PQ support in some public opinion polls.
But the embattled leader received a warm welcome Saturday. In turn, a visibly moved Boisclair sought to answer concerns about his dealings with the PQ's left-wing base and his commitment to holding another sovereignty referendum.
"What would the Parti Quebecois be without sovereignty?" he asked the crowd rhetorically. "What would the Parti Quebecois be without the support of workers? . . . If we didn't have each of the elements we would not be the Parti Quebecois."
Boisclair added that education, the environment and economic development, along with sovereignty, will be among the PQ's top priorities during the next campaign.
That was enough to satisfy at least one leader of a prominent left-wing group within the PQ.
Marc Laviolette, who was among those to criticize the PQ leader for trying to distance himself from Quebec's powerful unions, said Boisclair's speech convinced many that the party is finally headed in the right direction.
"(The election platform) satisfies me," said Laviolette, who heads an influential group called the Syndicalistes et progressistes pour un Quebec libre. "I find that we are able to work with it and say the PQ is a progressive party that will bring us towards sovereignty."
With Boisclair fending off questions about his leadership, speculation has grown that Liberal Premier Jean Charest could move to call a snap election.
Although Charest has until 2008 to go to the polls, he is widely expected to call an election sometime this year.
A weakened Boisclair could tempt Charest to hit the campaign trail sooner rather than later.
For his part, Boisclair's speech was rife with campaign-style rhetoric aimed at Charest.
"He knows that he lied during the last election campaign," Boisclair said. "He never apologized. We'll send him back to the opposition, and we won't apologize."
He also attacked Charest for Quebec's anemic economic growth rate, noting that the province's economy is growing at less than two per cent annually.
"Quebecers want a Quebec that's richer, more just, more green and closer to the regions," Boisclair said.
