CHICOUTIMI, Quebec, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Wednesday he will retire in February 2004.
The surprise announcement comes after intense pressure from a Liberal Party caucus meeting in Chicoutimi, Quebec, this week, but also from an unofficial leadership campaign that has bitterly divided the party.
"For 40 years, the Liberal Party has been like family to me," Chretien said. "Its best interests are bred in my bones. I have reflected on the best way to bring back unity -- to end the fighting, to resume interrupted friendships."
Showing little emotion, he added, "Here is my conclusion: I will not run again."
Chretien said he plans to complete his agenda over the next 18 months, but the party also needs that much time to organize a leadership convention and choose his successor.
"This will be after three of the opposition parties have chosen their new leaders, so Liberals will know what they are facing," he added. "And it will be early enough to give a new prime minister all the necessary flexibility to choose the date of the next election."
Liberals welcome Chretien's announcement because it clarifies his plans, but many fear a year and a half delay before a leadership convention will sideline former Finance Minister Paul Martin, the leading candidate in the party's unofficial leadership campaign.
Martin will have turned 65 years old by February 2004 and several younger Cabinet ministers are expected to launch their own leadership bids by then.
"The prime minister has a pretty good nose," said Liberal Party President Stephen LeDrew.
"I think he got around the country this summer, assessed things and he has made a very good decision," he added. "It's going to provide clarity and I think the party will be grateful for that."
The pressure to retire -- or at least announce his intention to step down -- changed Chretien's plans.
In his announcement, he said he decided two years ago he would not seek another mandate and planned to leave the job in 2004.
"This was the date he always had in mind," one of Chretien's trusted advisers said. "He just advanced the announcement of it for the good of the party."
Whether the Liberal Party will be able to recover from the infighting over Chretien's leadership remains to be seen.
Martin's supporters shied away from making any negative comments Wednesday, preferring instead to let the prime minister shine in the media spotlight.
Political pundits and former foes alike praised Chretien for his almost 40 years of service in the House of Commons.
Among his accomplishments: his instrumental role as justice minister when Canada's constitution was repatriated from Britain in 1982, and defeating separatist forces during the 1995 Quebec referendum while prime minister.
His career also set new records in Canadian politics. Chretien was elected in Quebec an unprecedented 11 times, won three consecutive majorities as party leader and served as minister in almost every major Cabinet portfolio.
