What is one to make of Quebec premier Bernard Landry’s three hundred and one thousand-day timetables? He expects they will help him not only to defy every published poll but also to make Quebec independent even though its citizens don’t want this.

Is this a clever way to salvage a minimum number of seats — certainly no more than ten — by relying on that part of the electorate which is solidly pro-independence and reluctant to support Mario Dumont’s Action Democratique party (ADQ)?, Or rather does it reveal Landry’s incredible blindness and his total ignorance of the factors underlying the political sea change currently underway?

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— Translation by Nathan Rao.

Editor notes: Quebec-based commentator Gil Courtemanche’s column is published every two weeks in Le Devoir. It appears at rabble.ca with permission.

Gil Courtemanche writes in French. As many of you read French, we’re offering you a chance to read Gil’s commentaries in the language in which they’re written. Please continue to let rabble know what you think of this approach.

Chronique d’un Suicide Annonc