One impressive factoid about this election campaign hits you like a ton of bricks if for no other reason than irony.

The key planks in the platforms of the Quebec Liberal Party, and the Parti Québécois, are strikingly similar. I won't go on the record calling them identical, because I don't want detail-oriented partisans from the two parties overwhelming my email account.

Nevertheless, slogans and constitution futures aside, Jean Charest and Pauline Marois are promising virtually the same things: more government-backed loan guarantees for business, smaller class sizes, a boost for the residential housing industry, and enhanced service on Montreal's suburban trains.

It's like Spy vs. Spy suddenly seeing eye to eye. Or the Road Runner and Wyle E. Coyote both sitting down to an Acme instant dinner together (just add water).

So, how are Marois and Charest selling their plans? Turns out, in pretty much the same way.

From day one, Charest has been repeating, over and over again, that Marois' past decisions at the PQ cabinet table vouch for what she would do if she takes power: Raise sales tax, cut public services... panic, basically, in the face of an economic storm.

Monday, Marois' message to a business luncheon north of Montreal, echoed that of Charest, only in reverse.

"The main problem is that Jean Charest has no economic vision," Marois charged.

"At least, not beyond managing daily affairs, and electioneering," she said.

Marois says the PQ has a better record than the Liberals when it comes to building middle-class prosperity. She says Charest's leadership has left Quebec lagging behind other Canadian provinces in terms of job growth, and the same would continue if the Liberals will the election and form a new government.