Bloc Still Exists, Looks For Leader

Wanted: A warm body, ideally with hopes of separating from Canada, but really, a pulse will do just fine.

Lost in all the hoopla surrounding the Liberal and NDP leadership races (and that Tory majority thing) is the race to find someone (anyone, really) to lead the Bloc Québécois. Ever since Gilles Duceppe stepped down following their electoral drubbing on May 2, in which they were reduced to just four seats in Parliament, the Bloc has been in search of a new leader. Duceppe addressed the party's first general meeting since the election over the weekend, in which he warned both the NDP and the Liberals that the Bloc is coming for them. He also called for unity among a party committed to breaking up a country. Right. Anyhow, half of the Bloc's caucus (a fancy way of saying “two MPs”) have said they want to lead the party: the youngish Jean-Francois Fortin, a 38-year-old from the Gaspe, and Maria Mourani, who's represented the Montreal riding of Ahuntsic since 2006. Good luck to the both of them.