Newly-elected Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair had an eventful first day on the job, receiving an offer to sit on Quebec's National Assembly and facing barbed questions about his moral authority to govern.

Premier Jean Charest said Wednesday after a caucus meeting that the vacant riding of Ste-Marie-St-Jacques is Boisclair's if he wants it.

Charest has not yet called a by-election in the downtown Montreal riding (which has remained vacant since the PQ's Andrew Boulerice retired on Sept. 12), but said he would put up no opposition to Boisclair by running a Liberal candidate.

Speaking to reporters for the first time Wednesday as PQ leader, Boisclair said, for now, he would rather not be tied down to the National Assembly. He would instead prefer to reorganize the Pequistes under his leadership.

Along with the seat offer came some harsh questions by provincial Liberal cabinet ministers on whether Boisclair has the moral authority to lead.

During the PQ leadership race, Boisclair was dogged by one issue: his cocaine use while a young cabinet minister in Lucien Bouchard's government. Clearly, Liberals are trying to keep the cocaine issue alive in Quebeckers' minds. Several federal and provincial Liberal politicians attacked Boisclair, saying he doesn't have the moral authority to serve in many cabinet posts, let alone be premier of Quebec.

"Could Mr. Boisclair be minister of public security tomorrow morning?" asked Economic Development Minister Claude Bechard on Wednesday.

"Could he be minister of justice? The answer is no. So at the end of the line can he be premier of Quebec? It's the same answer -- we don't think so."

Boisclair said he trusts Quebecers see past these "personal attacks," and that he's confident that he will "be able to gain the trust of the population for the next general election."

The next provincial election is still two years away, but Boisclair has battles almost as big to fight within his own party.

The PQ leadership race was hard-fought and divisive, with a split between Boisclair's supporters and party hardliners who believe the 39-year-old leader leans too far to the right.

And though Boisclair promised to "seek a mandate to hold a referendum on Quebec sovereignty as soon as possible" -- that might not be good enough for hardline sovereigntists who were frustrated over Bouchard's wait for "winning conditions" to materialize before holding a referendum.

"It sounds too familiar to those who heard Mr. Bouchard wait and wait for winning conditions," said Kahane in Montreal. "They don't want to hear that. They want to hear that he is going to hold a referendum immediately, and if there is a "Yes" vote then, no matter what, have a unilateral declaration of independence."

Boisclair won on the first ballot Tuesday evening, beating out seven other candidates.

The telegenic, openly gay career politician captured 53.7 per cent of the first-round choices, compared to 30.6 per cent for his main rival, former cabinet minister Pauline Marois.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Paul Martin offered backhanded congratulations.

"I guess I would congratulate Mr. Boisclair, and I hope he's the Opposition leader for a very long time," Martin said. Like Charest, Martin left it to his MPs to take the tougher line.

"In my scale of values, I find it difficult to think I could have a premier of Quebec -- my Premier of Quebec -- who is a consumer of cocaine, who was a consumer of cocaine," said Denis Paradis, an MP from Quebec. "It's not a dead issue, not in my point of view."