Once again, Pauline Marois would not answer the question.

She could not come clean on the referendum.

The only thing should would say is that there will not be a referendum until Quebecers are ready.

Well Madame, who decides when Quebecers are ready?

Do we have a pre-referendum on the referendum?

Perhaps the question would simply be Are you ready to be ready?

The thing with a PQ majority is that the entire apparatus of the government would be dedicated not for good governance but to convince Quebecers that they are indeed ready.

Philippe Couillard did not lose the debate.

In fact, he seemed calm, assured and well-prepared.

Madame Marois on the other hand seemed angry and as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

And then there were the moderators of this debate. Could Radio-Canada find anyone who seemed less sympathetic to the Liberals?

I did not put a stopwatch on it but it sure felt like Marois had more face time and they seemed reluctant to cut her off.

For now, the wind is clearly in the Liberal sails.

The PQ is desperately trying to return to the Charter of Values as the main election issue.

At this point it almost looks like a Hail Mary pass.

You see, the referendum horse has left the PQ barn and it ain't coming back in.

When three-quarters of Quebecers say in a CTV/Ipsos poll that a vote for the PQ is a vote for a referendum, you know they are in trouble.

The PQ strategists were just too clever by half.

They figured PKP, Pierre Karl Peladeau, would be a godsend.

He is proving to be a nightmare.

Their support started dropping the minute the media mogul clenched his fist raised his arm and declared he was on the march for sovereignty.

Then Madame Marois couldn't resist talking about borders, tolls and the loonie in the new Jerusalem on the St. Lawrence.

It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch, mind you, and the desperation in the PQ camp is beginning to show. Marois should be careful about resorting to smears because you know what they say about glass houses and throwing rocks. They were the ones who made separation the ballot question.

So the Charter it will be. The chief Charter guy, Bernard Drainville, upped the ante when he announced this week that not only would public servants be affected but so would university students.

A vote for the PQ, he says, is a vote for the Charter.

It's also a vote against diversity, fairness and an open society for all.

But this looks like a man who is playing his last hand.

Advice for Couillard

For the Liberals, they must continue to hammer the referendum question, and Liberals must caution Coulliard about wading into the murkiness of the constitution.

Face it, at this point in time Quebec has two options: Status quo or sovereignty.

There is no appetite for constitutional reform here or outside of Quebec. Maybe one day. But today is not that day.

This is far from over and much can happen. One swallow does not make a spring and a few positive polls do not make an election.

And I haven't seen too many swallows in the spring that, like most Quebecers, clearly isn't ready.

 

The opinions in this column belong to Barry Wilson and are not necessarily shared by CTV Montreal or BellMedia.