BOUCHARD ON RISE

A day after Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau announced his resignation over barely losing the secession referendum, it looks as though Canada may soon be dealing with an even more formidable separatist. Leaders of the Parti Quebecois are already trying to revive their push for secession under the banner of Lucien Bouchard, the movement's charismatic co-leader. Since Parizeau's decision to leave Tuesday, at least two potential replacements have said they would defer to a Bouchard candidacy. The Parti Quebecois, which took power in Quebec last year, chooses its leader through a vote of all 150,000 members. TIME's William McWhirter reports that Bouchard "goes back to Ottawa as the leader of the opposition party vowing to keep the cause alive. Prime Minister Chretien has stumbled badly. In fact, none of the leading political figures here have come off looking graceful or in charge. They have all been hurt except for Bouchard himself."