Lucien Bouchard resigns as Quebec premier

Lucien Bouchard has announced his resignation as Quebec premier, citing his inability to bring sovereignty to the Francophone province.

Bouchard says he will remain in his post until a successor is chosen, which may take several weeks.

He made the announcement after holding emergency meetings of his Cabinet and the Parti Quebecois caucus in the Quebec legislature. The caucus gave him a noisy ovation when he entered the room.

In his resignation statement, Bouchard, speaking in French, says his role as premier and Parti Quebecois leader was to bring sovereignty to the province.

"The results of my work are not very convincing," he said. "I assume all of the responsibility which is mine because I did not manage to relight the flame and to sensitize our citizens to the gravity of the situation."

A champion of the Quebec sovereignty cause who led the campaign that barely failed to win a 1995 referendum on the matter, Bouchard, 62, has faced heavy criticism from Parti Quebecois hard-liners impatient with his cautious approach on holding another sovereignty vote.

While saying he wanted to hold another sovereignty referendum before his term as premier expired in 2003, Bouchard also insists that "winning conditions" must exist, including a stable provincial economy and strong public support.

With opinion polls showing dwindling support for another referendum, Bouchard decided to get out of politics to work privately and be with his wife and two young sons.

Depute Premier Bernard Landry, who is tipped for the position in some quarters, says Bouchard told him his decision was "irrevocable."

"I tried for hours and hours to make him change his mind but the mountain was too great to climb," Landry told the Montreal Gazette. "We are losing a great man, the best man for the cause."