Separatist Quebec party leader attacked as MPs quit

MUTINY is threatening to tear apart the separatist Parti Quebecois in Canada, despite it being favourite to form the next regional government.

A fourth MP left its provincial parliamentary caucus yesterday a day after three others said they would be quitting over the leadership of Pauline Marois.

Jean-Martin Aussant demanded Mrs Marois, in post since June 2007, should step down.

He said: "I do not think Mrs Marois is the woman people want to follow when it comes to creating a country."

Parti Quebecois is committed to achieving independence for Quebec but would first have to win regional elections and hold a referendum. Two previous referenda, in 1980 and 1995, failed.

Although the PQ comfortably leads the ruling Liberals in the polls, influential hard-liners complain about what they see as Mrs Marois's heavy-handedness and her lack of drive to gain Quebec's independence.

The three MPs who quit on Monday attacked her leadership. MP Lisette Lapointe said: "The Parti Quebecois I am leaving is that of an extreme authority obsessed by power. The atmosphere has become stifling."

The four defections mean PQ now has 48 of 125 seats in Quebec's provincial government. The Liberals, with 65 seats, are expected to call elections either late next year or in early 2013.