MONTREAL 聴 The next two nights could help determine whether the Parti Quebecois will be challenged for its front-runner status in the provincial election campaign.Thats because a unique debate format will place the new Coalition party at the centre of the political discussion for two nights.Francois Legault is about to square off in a pair of one-on-one contests the first one tonight against Liberal Premier Jean Charest, and the final one Wednesday against the current favourite, the PQs Pauline Marois.The rookie leader is a pivotal player in the three-way race.Legaults level of support is a wildcard factor in a number of riding battles, with his party in a position to play the role of spoiler even in areas where its not likely to win.So far, polls suggest a number of Liberal voters have flocked to the new Coalition party. But the PQ base has held up more steadily, creating a vote split that analysts believe could give the pro-independence party a comfortable victory with just one-third of the popular vote.The fear of vote-splitting is intense enough on the federalist side that a long-time Liberal organizer in Quebec City is urging party supporters, through different media interviews, to rally behind the Coalition for this one election.There are two ways for Legault to break the current pattern: he can start stealing votes from the PQ, or he can start losing some back to the Liberals.Otherwise, if the current poll numbers hold up, surveys suggest the biggest unknown in this election is whether the PQ would be expected to win a minority or majority government on Sept. 4.The leader of the PQ, Pauline Marois, concluded her one-on-one debate with Liberal Premier Jean Charest on Monday.That debate featured a replay of the battles over independence that Legault says he wants to put aside. A former PQ cabinet minister who once called sovereignty an urgent need, Legault now says he would vote against independence and is tired of debating the issue.The leaders of the two older parties tackled the topic, however, with considerable energy Monday.Charest accused the PQ of fostering instability, with its talk of independence. He demanded that Marois come clean and tell Quebecers whether she would hold a referendum.The PQ leader was vague in her answer. There will be a third plebiscite on independence, Marois suggested, whenever the PQ feels it can win.A referendum if necessary, at the moment its necessary, Marois said.But she reassured voters not to worry when casting their ballots, because a PQ government would prepare the province for a referendum well in advance by repeatedly making its case for independence: We wont have a referendum in secret.With a bite in his tone Charest, fighting for his political survival, was more combative than usual Monday. He accused Marois of discrimination with a proposed law that would restrict religious headwear in public spaces and force public office-holders to speak French.And he said her ever-present referendum threat would lead to instability.(She) will place a sword of Damocles over Quebecs society and economy by saying, Ill hold a referendum when it suits me, Charest said.The last thing we need is referendum threats 聟 youre gambling at the casino with Quebecs future.Charest was asked after the debate whether he was angry at the PQ leader. Charest replied, dryly: No more than usual. Marois later told reporters that she found her rival very aggressive.With two weeks left in the campaign, there is a strong chance that only one of Mondays two debate participants will continue in provincial politics after the election.If so, this was their final face-to-face campaign debate.The issue of student strikes, which had fallen off the radar during the Quebec election campaign after captivating the province for months, made a brief return as an election issue.The tuition dispute has been a non-factor in recent days as students have massively voted to return to class. The issue, which was making international headlines just a few months ago, didnt even come up in the first leaders debate on Sunday.But it was raised in Mondays second debate in a question from the moderator.Marois was asked to clarify her position on the tuition hikes. She replied that, yes, she was against the $254-a-year increases. Marois has already said her government would call a summit with students and propose indexing tuition increases to the rate of inflation.That earned her a scolding from the Liberal premier.I will not bend to the street like you did, Charest said. Sometimes, governments need to make difficult decisions 聟 otherwise, Quebec becomes ungovernable.Marois pointed out that only a tiny majority of protesters last spring actually participated in vandalism. She said most were peaceful, and the premier could have encouraged social stability by sitting down with them sooner and listening to their concerns.You divided Quebecers, Marois said.I believe a head of state has some responsibility in that regard.Mondays event began with the subject that has caused Charest the most problems: ethics scandals. He sought to neutralize that issue by launching a counter-attack on the ethics of his rival.For a moment, Charest and Marois were engaged in an exchange of insults over who was most to blame for crooked political fundraising.Charest said Marois PQ had no right to claim the moral high ground on the issue. He said his rivals 2007 leadership campaign had received more than three-quarters of its funding from people tied to firms in the construction industry.He also raised a $2,500 donation to Marois from a teenager, and a 2006 report that suggested the notorious Groupaction marketing firm had illegally donated almost $100,000 to the PQ while it was in power.Charest said he was tired of having his partys reputation besmirched for two years, and of seeing the entire political system fall into disrepute.Many unfounded allegations were made, the Liberal premier said.The political class has some responsibility for that including Madame Marois.Marois shrugged off his attack. She listed some of the controversies to rock the Liberals. They included a minister having a fundraising meal with a reputed member of the Mafia, as well as lucrative government contracts going to Liberal party donors.Its not you who is going to give me lessons on integrity, Mr. Charest, Marois replied. Its indecent.She said her PQ would go farther than Charest has in tightening political fundraising laws, and reiterated her promise to lower the donation limit to $100.Charest has introduced a series of laws with respect to public-works contracts, political fundraising, and has created police squads that have already made numerous arrests.The province is experimenting with an unconventional debate format in the run-up to the Sept. 4 election. Three of the four encounters will see one-on-one contests, rather than all four main party leaders on stage at the same time.Over the next two nights, under the new debate format, both Marois and Charest will square off in one-on-one encounters against Legault. Marois and Legault, who are former cabinet colleagues, will face off against each other Wednesday.Legault left the PQ to create his new party, which has no official position on the independence question and promises not to discuss the issue that has dominated Quebec politics since the late 1960s.The only debate featuring all the main party leaders on the same stage occurred Sunday night. Marois used Sundays event to repeatedly attack Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a hint of federal-provincial battles that might follow the Sept. 4 vote.
