Peladeau Rising; Quebec's Silvio Berlusconi sets sights on Presidency of independent Quebec

When Pierre Karl Peladeau says he wants to see Quebec become an independent country, he hardly needs to add that he'd also like to see himself as its leader.

Its interesting to see how his declaration for the PQ is considered to lend the separatist party much-needed cred in the business community. The shareholders who took a multi-million dollar bath with the bankruptcy of Quebecor World in 2008 may have a different opinion.

Here is a portrait of the young Peladeau as a business genius, from Forbes in 1999.

Angry son

HE STRIDES THROUGH his U.S. offices blowing smoke from his Montecristo cigar and relishing the fact that no one dares to remind him of nonsmoking laws. He curses at his executives in French and English, throwing an occasional chair across the room to drive his point home. He punishes salesmen for extravagant spending by withholding their travel reimbursement checks for six weeks. Pierre Karl Pladeau, the new head of Quebecor Inc., is something of a terror. But allow him some bad-boy antics: His Montreal-based, but internationally ambitious, firm had sales last year of $5.6 billion and is upstaging the competition wherever it goes.

What a charmer!

Hopefully Quebec media will do a little digging into their new political star. They should ask questions about his partnership with right-wing union-buster and all-round nutter Robert Maxwell, and his more than cosy relationship with the ever-slippery Lyin' Brian Mulroney, who had more than a few scandals of his own.

But given his control of Quebec media that may be wishful thinking.

Most disturbing is his consistent record of bullying workers. It makes one fear for the future of Quebec's working class if this man is allowed near the levers of political power.