31 October 2008

"par l'argent et par la vote ethnique" - 13 years later

Geez, it's funny how quickly some things slip by.

October 30 marked the 13th anniversary of the 1995 Quebec referendum.

What people seem to remember more than anything else is then-Premier Jacques Parizeau's speech delivered after the results poured in.

He blamed the separatist on two simple things - money and the ethnic vote - and promised that there would be another vote before long: " we won't wait another 15 years."

The video  above is a rather poor copy of the original CBC/Radio Canada broadcast. 

Still, it's worth watching a 65 year old Parizeau giving vent to his frustrations, lashing out and warning of the potential for revenge being wreaked by unnamed forces.  All the more reason, he then says to have the Parti Quebecois there to defend Quebeckers.

Threats of imaginary attacks. Ranting about "us" and "them".  Dividing the world along ethnic lines.  The need for a political force to defend - to stand up for - the province. Such familiar ideas.

For those who can't follow the speech in French, you can find the whole thing with English translation at CBC's digital archive.

-srbp-