A Mixed Bag in Quebec Vote

Quebecers have installed -- barely -- a separatist government for the first time in almost a decade. But they did not vote for sovereignty. Pauline Marois became the first female premier of Quebec on Tuesday not because the electorate was anxious for a referendum, but because enough of it was fed up with the three-term Liberal government of Jean Charest. There may be some joyful separatists in Quebec today, but they, like the Marois government, are in a distinct minority. The Charest Liberals actually showed well against the predictions of polls and prognosticators who saw the federalists falling to third-party status. Mr. Charest lost his own seat and has resigned as leader. But his party holds official Opposition status with 50 of 125 seats, not far behind the new government's 54 seats. That is a silver lining for the Liberals, as the full force of the youth protest vote -- which contributed heavily to the remarkable 75 per cent turnout in an era of falling voter participation countrywide -- was expected to fall heavily against the Liberals.