In the small, grey Quebec villages, political meetings have a clannish, almost family atmosphere. Réal Caouette, 45, strides down the center aisle, chatting, shaking hands. A small, bespectacled man, he speaks rapidly in French Canadian patois, his jokes homey and telling. At meeting's end, as party workers pass cardboard ice cream containers for campaign contributions, he says to his audience of stubble-chinned farmers and somber-faced workmen: "Give if you can, but don't be shy if you can't. And if you really need some money, take it."
Caouette is the most conspicuous new...
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