More fractious times within Parti Québécois as fifth caucus member calls it quits

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Pauline Marois and the Parti Québécois are now being plucked from both wings.

A fifth PQ caucus member quit Tuesday, but his departure was most notable because he is the first to suggest the sovereigntist party should back off from its commitment to the pursuit of Quebec independence.

Benoit Charette's resignation comes two weeks after four members of the National Assembly quit the PQ, accusing the party and leader of going soft on independence.

"I think they made the wrong diagnosis," Mr. Charette said. "There are things in the PQ platform that would certainly solve problems for Quebeckers … the commitment to hold a referendum is not among them."

With an internal revolt over tactics and leadership, and upstart nationalist parties growing on the left and right, the political space occupied by the Parti Québécois is fracturing into an unprecedented number of shards.

The split between soft and hard nationalist wings of the party leaves Ms. Marois treading on extremely narrow ground as she fends off questions over her leadership abilities.

"This is a grave crisis," PQ president Raymond Archambault acknowledged Tuesday. "Our party activists don't understand what is happening, they feel they've lost touch with a big part of the parliamentary wing of the party."

A few weeks ago, Mr. Charette went to Ms. Marois's office to suggest the party drop the promise of holding a referendum on Quebec independence in the event of a PQ election win. He said he knew the idea of dropping the referendum pledge, one of the hallowed founding principles of the party, could never fly - particularly given that Mr. Charette didn't have anyone else in caucus ready to back his idea.

"Once I asked, she told me it was impossible to go in that direction. Frankly, I understand her reasons," Mr. Charette said.

Mr. Charette's position does put him in perfect sync with François Legault, the former PQ cabinet minister who has founded his own political movement on the principle of strong nationalism but no referendum. Mr. Charette was coy about his future plans.

Further adding to her troubles, Ms. Marois ejected a sixth MNA from her caucus late Tuesday. Raymond Gauvreau was temporarily removed because of a criminal investigation involving one of his aides, the party announced.

While Mr. Gauvreau's departure seemed unrelated to caucus revolt, the resignations fuelled the impression the sovereigntist movement is in a major crisis. Senior PQ officials are now bracing for Gilles Duceppe's return to the public stage Wednesday, when he will sit down for a primetime television interview.

The fear in Ms. Marois's entourage is that the mere presence of the former Bloc Québécois leader will fuel a sense he wants to return to politics and seek the PQ leadership. After his crushing defeat in the May 2 federal election, Mr. Duceppe had promised to stay out of the fray for at least several months.

Mr. Duceppe entered the PQ leadership race in 2007, only to quickly bow out in favour of Ms. Marois. Many in Bloc and PQ circles believe Mr. Duceppe never abandoned the dream of leading the sovereigntist movement from Quebec City.

Mr. Duceppe has pointedly refused to rule out a run for the PQ leadership some day. Supporters of Ms. Marois have taken note.

Mr. Duceppe was always more popular among Quebeckers than with the PQ caucus. It's unclear how the Bloc's decimation may have changed the equation.

"The MNAs who recently resigned aren't his supporters, and he doesn't have much support within the caucus," a PQ official said. "However, when it comes to the population at large, people hope that he will go to Quebec City."

In that context, his decision to emerge from his self-imposed silence raises questions about his intentions, and whether or not he is trying to undermine Ms. Marois's leadership.

With files from The Canadian Press