Quebec's first modern minority government sits for the first time Tuesday and André Boisclair's days at the helm of the Parti Québécois may already be numbered.

The sovereignty movement enters the new era of Quebec politics in a full-blown leadership crisis, with Boisclair waging open war with Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe.

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe
(Radio-Canada)

In a weekend interview, Boisclair accused Duceppe's allies of a guerrilla campaign to oust him so Duceppe can take his place.

The outburst dumbfounded PQ supporters and independent political observers who say they've never seen anything like it.

"It's my impression that this was a sort of professional suicide," said former PQ cabinet minister Jean-Pierre Charbonneau.

"He's really gone too far this time. He's blown away people who are allies, who could be allies, who will want nothing to do with a frontal confrontation, a war, with Gilles Duceppe.

"Whether he meant it or not, it was a suicidal gesture."

After less than two years in charge, Boisclair may have set a speed record for generating discontent after falling to third place in the March election when the PQ won only 36 of the 125 seats in the legislature.

Prominent sovereigntists willing to publicly support the embattled PQ leader were hard to find Monday. Former PQ cabinet minister Yves Duhaime was one of the few, suggesting Duceppe has done little to erase the impression he wants to replace Boisclair.

"Nobody can run a political party when there is incessant jiggery-pokery," Duhaime said during an open-line radio program on Radio-Canada.

"Mr. Duceppe might not be at the heart of all these shenanigans, but he's waiting for the work to be done. It has to stop."

Duceppe tried to stay above the fray as he emerged from the House of Commons on Monday, saying only he has not spoken to the PQ leader.

"We'll see," he said in answer to several questions about his career and the future of the movement.

Moments later, one of Duceppe's MPs added her voice to the mix, saying she couldn't explain Boisclair's outburst.

"But there is never smoke without fire and I'm uncomfortable with what's going on on both sides," said Caroline St-Hilaire.

The revolt in sovereigntist ranks obscured a painful backtrack Monday by Premier Jean Charest on the eve of the resumption of the legislature.

His Liberals abandoned a plan to sell off a part of the Mont Orford provincial park to real estate developers after months of protest and the resignation of a cabinet minister.

The move promises to be just the first unpopular plan to be dropped in the horse-trading reality of minority government, which sees the Liberals with 48 members in the national assembly.

"It's the first result of the election, of a minority government," said Charbonneau.

"It means we'll have a government that is less obtuse, less arrogant. It's the first evidence that a minority government tends to be more responsible."

Mario Dumont's Action Démocratique du Québec has 41 members as Quebecers get their first minority government in 129 years.

While the PQ has a long tradition of devouring leaders in a storm of recrimination, few people can recall such an open confrontation between two leaders who are supposed to be at the helm of the sovereignty movement.

"It's really the first time we have these strong tensions after a setback for sovereignty and a leader who is so clumsy," said Christian Rouillard, a political scientist at the University of Ottawa.

René Lévesque and Pierre Marc Johnson both left after internal revolts and Jacques Parizeau and Lucien Bouchard had underground battles for control, but the leaders tended to remain above the fray in public.

"In the PQ, there is often a dissatisfaction with leaders, there is always a gap between the leader and the party," said political scientist Christian Dufour.

"But I can't remember a leader of the Parti Québécois who has been as discredited as André Boisclair today. It's a whole new level."

Serge Ménard, a Bloc MP and an ex-PQ cabinet minister, pointed out what a tough job it can be to lead the PQ.

"It's my impression Mr. Boisclair is going through a tough time, that he's very depressed," Ménard said.

"When a leader wins in the PQ, he has a tough time. Imagine when he loses."