Since Sunday evening, all of Quebec has been wondering who this Bruno Marchand is who won the city hall of the capital by snatch. Small portrait of a tireless runner, who has found a sufficiently consensual tone to please both the voters of the upper town and Radio X.
In an interview with CHOI-FM, Monday morning, the new mayor of Quebec was called by his first name, Bruno, discussing with two hosts anxious to rebuild bridges between their station and the City.
When Jeff Fillion said in August that Mr. Marchand would make a “good mayor” for Quebec, many progressives frowned. But that did not prevent the strong and proud leader of Quebec (QFF) from winning in the districts deemed to be the most to the left of the capital, such as Cap-aux-Diamants or Montcalm – Saint-Sacrement.
“The goal is not to be elected, it is to reunite the city”, he summed up in an interview with the To have to the day after the victory.
Born in Quebec in the Limoilou district, the 48-year-old man has a rather atypical background, which has taken him from studies of philosophy to social work and student services from Cégep Sainte-Foy to the Quebec Association for Prevention. suicide. As CEO of Centraide since 2014, he has distinguished himself by the efficiency of his fundraising, increasing them from $ 12 million to $ 17 million in seven years.
No to niche politics
By his own admission he is the man of many gangs. What he did not fail to emphasize in his speech on Sunday evening. “Have you ever seen a Liberal, a PQ, a Caquist and a solidarity group gathered at the same table and laugh out loud? With us, it happened every day! “
This is not a detail in Quebec, where certain divisions die hard, such as the opposition between downtown and suburbs or between supporters of public transport and motorists. Transcending the categories, “it was fundamental”, he confided to the To have to.
“The easiest thing in politics is to engage in niche politics. […] There is something very mobilizing in the fact of having a well-identified common enemy, but that was out of the question “, maintains the one who, from the start of his campaign, had said he wanted to embody a” new tone “to the antipodes of “the chicane”.
In the end, three of his candidates were elected in the center, but also in three different suburbs: Sillery, Charlesbourg and Loretteville.
Marchand started discussing a new municipal option a year and a half ago with a small group made up of François Paquet (a former Parti Québécois), Luc Samama (ex of the Bloc Québécois), Bruno-Pierre Cyr ( ex-péquiste) and Luc Massicotte, a former colleague of the Quebec Association for Suicide Prevention.
Little by little, we saw it appear more publicly. The mayoral aspirant suffered from a massive notoriety deficit, but quickly became associated with the bright red running shoes he wore on all occasions. By the way he dresses and expresses himself, Bruno Marchand has from the start emitted a “relaxed” image. And it was “strategically thought out and chosen,” he admits. “It breaks the image of the traditional politician. It presents a younger, more active policy and it is not a casting that we gave ourselves. I am a runner. “
Communication expertise
When he embarrassed himself by opening the door to a tax along the streetcar, he told the To have to that he would say the same thing if it had to be done again. Because “if we want politicians who do not have authentic tapes, we must accept that we put the debates to the game.”
His opponents have hammered him throughout the campaign: Mr. Marchand and the members of his team are communication professionals. An asset for campaigning, but a possible weakness for setting up an executive committee.
Thus, among the six people elected to his team on Sunday, none has financial skills. Could the former CEO of Centraide do it himself? He did not rule out any scenario on Monday.
One thing is certain: the head of QFF wishes to seek talent from other political parties. All day Monday, he called for inter-party collaboration.
Team Marie-Josée Savard, which has the largest number of elected officials (10), issued a press release in the morning to congratulate him without specifying what would happen to the leader and the party. It was mentioned that Mme Savard would be available to support the newly elected members of his training. Could she play the role of party leader without sitting? We will allow ourselves to doubt it. By choosing not to have a running mate or running mate, her message was clear: for her, it was town hall or nothing.
The rest should become clearer on November 22, when the next city council meeting is held.