The strategy of Éric Duhaime and the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) in view of the October elections is beginning to take shape. The former radio host, who presented the candidacy of Anne Casabonne on Monday, reveals part of his game plan in a biography presenting him as an idealistic unifier, far from the polarizing polemicist who revealed himself on the radio.
“Eric’s ideological side is more moderate than it seems”, writes Frédérick Têtu in his biography of the character, where he no longer describes him as a man of the right, but of a “center right” at a distance from the “right radical”.
From the center right, Éric Duhaime? “We cast a much wider net than the traditional right,” replies the politician in an interview. “I have a lot of people who join the party who have a much more left-wing sensibility. You will see, we will even have candidates from the solidarity movement. »
And from the Parti Québécois: actress Anne Casabonne, who announced her candidacy for the by-election in Marie-Victorin, in Longueuil, on Monday, stressed that she had voted PQ “all her life” before joining the PCQ .
The biography is titled Towards and for all. Not “against all” but “for” – an additional sign of the positive leadership that we now wish to lend to Mr. Duhaime.
Earlier in the book, Frédérick Têtu will say of the former host that he “always criticizes in the hope of saving the world”.
An application to Lévis?
In an interview, Éric Duhaime admits that he hit certain minorities on the head when he was a host, but says he no longer wishes to polarize as he did on the radio. “For a radio host to make a platform with both sides of the coin and polarize on an issue, that’s one thing,” he said, but “a prime minister has a duty” to “maintain a certain social cohesion “.
That said, his presence on the airwaves has greatly contributed to his success, he concedes. “It’s definitely an advantage,” he said. Which also explains why it is more popular in the greater Quebec City region than elsewhere. We will not be surprised, in this context, that this is where he intends to present himself. In Chauveau or Vanier, or maybe on the South Shore [dans la région] of Quebec, where his party is also very popular. “These are good ridings for us. […] I will go where I have the best chance. »
In terms of content, the PCQ will campaign on the opening of private health care, Frédéric Têtu announces towards the end of the book. But if he judges that the health system is functioning poorly, how can he not support the health measures resulting from a fragility that he himself recognizes?
“We have been in a health crisis for two years. What has the government done to increase the number of beds? To increase hospital capacity? »
The Legault government, he says, should have entered into agreements with private clinics that provide general care (in addition to the already existing contracts for certain surgical procedures). “Did he ask these people what they could do to help improve the offer? Has he even met them? […] All he does is gestures to infringe on our freedoms. »
The leader of the Conservative Party ensures that the opening to the private sector that he advocates would not create two-tier medicine and that universal care would be maintained, hence the attraction that his program can exert on people more on the left.
On the radio because of Amir Khadir
We know it: Éric Duhaime has the sense of the formula. Mr. Têtu, who relies in particular on interviews with hosts Dominic Mavais and Jérôme Landry, recounts his undeniable success as soon as he arrived on the airwaves of Radio X. and many listeners reacted by SMS and email to each of his interventions. »
Sometimes falling into euphemism and complacency, the author evokes his “slippages”, and writes that he poured into a “genre of hyper-committed radio”.
The exercise reminds us that before being a host, Éric Duhaime was first and foremost a political strategist who worked for a staggering number of politicians, from Gilles Duceppe to Mario Dumont via Stockwell Day and Marc Bellemare in his race for the Quebec city hall. All this in ten years.
A sequence breathless enough to be questioned about his ability to stay long at the head of the Conservative Party. To this, he replies that he “is not the only one to have moved”. “There was a split which was federalist/sovereignist. I defined myself on this axis like all Quebecers, then quietly, we defined ourselves more on a left/right axis. »
However, the book emphasizes this repeatedly: Éric Duhaime’s goal is first and foremost to defend his ideology. “If he goes into politics, it is to help transform Quebec in the direction of his ideas. That’s what he always tried to do. This is primarily why he started doing radio in 2009-2010.
There was a split which was federalist/sovereignist. I defined myself on this axis like all Quebecers, then quietly, we defined ourselves more on a left/right axis.
And also to counter the ideas of Quebec solidaire, relates Duhaime, who feared that Quebec would make a turn “to the left”. “At the time, Amir Khadir was the most popular politician in Quebec. »
Handsome player, the author of the biography also returns to episodes which put the politician in the embarrassment. Like the complaint, ultimately rejected, of which he was the subject to the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec because he was promoting Stephen Harper’s program in 2011 by giving away free copies of his book Free us from the unions! during the campaign.
He also takes the opportunity to skin some of his most virulent detractors, such as columnists Karine Gagnon and Patrick Lagacé, whom he describes as a “worldly journalist” who pours into contempt.
The book also seeks to answer certain questions and deny “rumors” about the source of his income. “The fact is that Eric has no children, has worked since adolescence, is thrifty, has a modest lifestyle and is clever enough to invest his savings . »