LONGUEUIL, Que. - Pauline Marois acknowledges the Parti Quebecois is going through a stormy period but she says that's no reason for her to step down as party leader.
The PQ needs a strong leader to help resolve the conflict within its ranks and prepare it for the next election, Marois said on Saturday while attending a softball game on Montreal's south shore.
"It's nice to see we can work as a team," she joked Saturday before throwing the first pitch at the PQ-organized game in Longueuil.
But events in the past few months indicate the PQ has a big job ahead to improve its teamwork.
Marois has been in damage-control mode all summer following the loss of five members of her caucus. Questions have been raised about her leadership style and she faces a critical test at a caucus meeting next week.
Marois insisted she has made positive changes within the party and vowed that she will lead the PQ into the next election.
"There is a storm right now, but I don't believe the captain should abandon the ship in the middle of a storm," said Marois, who has been leader since 2007.
"I will steer this ship right again and the population of Quebec can have confidence in the Parti Quebecois."
On Friday, two former members of her caucus said they would run for the PQ's top job if Marois stepped down.
Pierre Curzi, who was among a trio of high-profile Pequistes to quit the caucus in June over Marois' go-slow approach to sovereignty, indicated on Friday that he would be willing to take the top job.
Another former PQ member who resigned this summer, Jean-Martin Aussant, also said he would consider running for the leadership.
A regularly scheduled PQ caucus meeting next Wednesday and Thursday could be decisive for Marois, according to Curzi.
Curzi said concerns have been raised about her leadership. He did not rule out the possibility that some caucus members might ask her to step aside.
Bernard Drainville, who along with Curzi has been touted as a possible leader, warned Thursday the PQ must act quickly to address a slide in popularity.
Marois has drawn criticism from Drainville and others who argue she hasn't done enough to promote sovereignty.
But Marois has argued a referendum should only be held at an opportune time. Sovereigntists have already lost two referendums -- in 1980 and 1995.
Marois said Saturday she had a responsibility not only to those who want an independent Quebec, but also to those who want to see Premier Jean Charest's Liberals ousted from power.
Recent polls have placed the PQ in third behind the Liberals and a right-leaning coalition that isn't even a political party yet.
Five members quit the PQ caucus over the summer, including Curzi, Aussant, and Lisette Lapointe, wife of former premier and PQ icon Jacques Parizeau.
The sovereigntist movement has also begun to splinter into smaller factions. A citizens' movement promoting independence drew about 400 people to its founding meeting last weekend.
