After a disastrous election result, the pressure is once again increasing on Dominique Anglade to leave the helm of the Liberal ship with the failed attempt to bring MP Marie-Claude Nichols back home.
• Read also: Marie-Claude Nichols will not return to the Liberal caucus
• Read also: Leadership shaken: “I’m not fed up”, assures Anglade
The leader of the PLQ failed to repair the broken pots with the member for Vaudreuil, whom she expelled. Mme Nichols has rejected Dominique Anglade’s outstretched hand and refuses to rejoin the Liberal caucus led by a leader she now has “zero trust.”
“I do not wish to be at the center of this distraction nor to be the lifeline of a leadership that gets lost in unexplained, thoughtless and hasty decisions”, we read in a punch letter sent Tuesday to his former liberal colleagues.
In the evening, in an interview with LCN, she added, stating bluntly that Dominique Anglade “must leave, and leave quickly”.
Scathingly, the member pointed out that Mr.me Anglade is “not even capable of assigning functions without the baffle getting in the way”.
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Chief challenged
And she’s not the only one. The more the days pass, the more the allies become rare for the leader Anglade, whose authority is disputed by former elected liberals.
Can she remain chief for much longer? “I’m going to admit it, really, I don’t think so,” indicated former Liberal MP André Drolet, saying that he shares the opinion of other former colleagues such as Lise Thériault, Jean D’Amour and Serge Simard, who publicly testified to their disappointment with the leadership of Mr.me England.
He also adds his voice to that of people who find that the episode with Mme Nichols is the straw that broke the camel’s back.
For him, let Mme Anglade leaves, or the party urgently organizes a meeting to find a way to advance the vote of confidence as soon as possible.
Like Mr. Drolet, former Minister Robert Poëti considers that the questioning, for Mr.me Anglade, dates back to the October 3 elections. “It’s unfortunate, he’s a good person, but obviously it was not a success,” summed up Mr. Poëti.
“She can’t stay,” says another former MP who wishes to remain anonymous. “She has to go, ideally before the start of the parliamentary term” scheduled for November 29, says another. “She does not pass” with Quebecers, we insist.
She clings
But Dominique Anglade hangs on. In a statement sent to the media yesterday, the Liberal leader “takes note” of the decision of the member for Vaudreuil, but she still leaves the door open for her return.
Many of his former colleagues are not surprised by his stubbornness to remain at the head of the PLQ, despite the discontent. “She has no judgement! laments an ex-comrade in arms. In her head, this position belongs to her and she is good.
With this new leadership crisis in the QLP, rumors and speculation are rife about potential successors.
In theory, the leader must submit to a vote of confidence at the next congress of the PLQ, which must be held within a year.
EXCERPTS FROM AN EMAIL FROM MP MARIE-CLAUDE NICHOLS SENT TO HER FORMER LIBERAL COLLEAGUES
Screenshot, TVA Nouvelles
“I neither wish to be at the center of this distraction nor to be the lifeline of a leadership that wanders into unexplained, thoughtless and hasty decisions.”
“My loyal and proud liberal convictions no longer need to be proven, but it is clear that my confidence in the leader has been very badly shaken since my exclusion manu militari and what followed.”
“Despite the high opinion I have for each of you, it will be impossible for me to sit in a caucus led by a leader in whom I do not fully trust.”
POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR THE SUCCESSION OF DOMINIQUE ANGLADE MENTIONED IN THE RANKS OF THE PLQ
Pierre Moreau
A former Liberal minister under Jean Charest and Philippe Couillard, the name of Pierre Moreau has been circulating in the Liberal ranks for months.
The lawyer is a skilled communicator, but he has already made it known in the past that the leadership of the PLQ was not in his plans.
Mr. Moreau refused our interview request yesterday.
André Fortin
The only Liberal MP elected outside Greater Montreal, the elected Pontiac was on the starting blocks of the last campaign for the leadership of the PLQ, before abandoning the race for family reasons.
Alain Rayes
Photo archives, Chantal Poirier
Member of Parliament for Richmond-Arthabaska, Alain Rayes slammed the door of the Conservative Party of Canada after the victory of Pierre Poilievre and he now sits as an independent.
His regional profile appeals to a good number of Quebec liberals, especially since he gave his support to the candidacy of Jean Charest for the leadership of the CPC.
In provincial politics, however, he has an ADQ past.
Joined on Tuesday, Alain Rayes reiterated that his goal was to complete his term at the federal level.
“I am in no way in a mode to seek support or to check my support for a leadership race of the PLQ”, he insisted.
Joel Lightbound
Elected from Ottawa since 2015, the 34-year-old Liberal has distanced himself, on several issues, from Justin Trudeau’s caucus in the past year.
According to our information, the young Lightbound would not close the door to a possible race to succeed Dominique Anglade.
Further from the recent Montreal image of the PLQ, it could revive training, some say.
However, other Liberals maintain that he has no foundation among the troops and that he does not have the reputation of being the perfect team player.
– With the collaboration of Nicolas Lachance