Charest may live on his majorities while Marois must fight with her minority

Pauline Marois député of Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré became the premier ministre designate of Québec, as the Parti Québécois took its best shot at and acquired itself a minority government by taking 31.94% of the vote and 54 seats yesterday, despite one of its worst showing in the party's history on the left. François Legault député of L'Assomption and his upstart Coalition Avenir Québec came in a close third, with 27.05% of the vote and 19 seats, giving it the momentum to move forward to the right. In the middle, at the centre ice, Jean Charest Member of the National Assembly of Sherbrooke was, along with a Parti Libéral du Québec he led as its opposition leader in 1998 and the premier since 2003, defeated though posting up even closer second place numbers, being 31.20% of the vote and 50 seats, while a 6.03% Québec Solidaire's and Françoise David député of Gouin and Amir Khadir député of Mercier were actually elected!

Separation is not quite on, but talk of a citizen initiated referendum to be electorate driven at 15% for the souveraineté sssociation option to start a Round 3 in constitutional affairs boxing sure is, as Marois talks of a special citizenship for nationals of la belle province. That kind of talk which invokes federal intergovernmental or constitutional affairs will just dredge up the thoughts and actions of early 1990s Canada, where Jean Chrétien, Lucien Bouchard, Stéphane Dion, Jacques Brassard, Gilles Duceppe, Daniel Turp, Stephen Harper and Bill C-20 or the Clarity Act of 2000, expect this next round to be more interesting than both 1980's 59.56% Non to 40.44% Oui and 1995's 50.58% Non to 49.42% Oui in terms of theatrics and rhetoric but not any factual evidence. Adding on top of this, new language requirements all new immigrants will have to meet to become full citizens of Québec, despite no such requirements needed to become a citizen of Canada. A nous de choisir has become a chance was yours, a business model could have been promoted from a Libéral minority propped up by the Coalisés that could have begun the long road home towards crunching the $122.4 billion net provincial debt and finally stimulating economic growth, something the entitlement spending friendly Parti Québécois, Québec Solidaire and Option Nationale have all said was unreasonable yet really is reasonable especially to all the other Canadians working hard and paying long into a $4.5 billion net equalization gain for la belle province.

Instead, the Péquistes now run the Assemblée Nationale du Québec with Marois out in front, while the Libérals sit down and take up their seats across the floor on the opposition side. Added into this hotly contested mixup, is the idea that maybe the flak Marois has already received precontest will add up with that from the election and now starting to build up postcontest, leading one to believe her minority just may not be worth the mettle, whereas Charest may have escaped with all majorities and minority intact as legacy work. As for the defeated Charest, he may now trade in his stick with the Castors in Sherbrooke, rise like a Phoenix from the ashes, get called up by General Manager Harper and traded over to Ottawa, to play a couple more games for the Senators in the old Upper Red Chamber arena before retiring, or perhaps as an Ambassador to France play some minor semi pro across the pond who really knows?