[Éditorial] Solidarity Montreal | The duty

Even if we must always be careful when interpreting the results of a by-election, the resounding victory of Québec solidaire (QS) in the Liberal bastion of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne, surprising in its magnitude, allows the party on the left to hope for something other than the stagnation he experienced during the last general elections. And for the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), the prospect of a long and painful ordeal is essential, which could lead it to decay.

In this riding, where a third of the population speaks English most often at home, the newly elected Guillaume Cliche-Rivard won 45.5% of the vote, against 29% for the PLQ.

In principle, the context should have favored the PLQ: it is young people between the ages of 18 and 34 who constitute the largest block of solidarity support, young people who are less inclined to exercise their right to vote. Unsurprisingly, turnout in the by-election was relatively low — just over 30% — but this lethargy clearly worked against the Liberals.

There is every reason to believe that it was the QS organization on the ground, made up of numerous and motivated militants, which made the difference. In fact, the solidarity candidate collected almost as many votes as in the general elections in October. While the formidable liberal machine is only a shadow of itself.

After having delighted the neighboring riding of Verdun, as well as Maurice-Richard, Québec solidaire has just demonstrated once again that it can make gains at the expense of the Liberals in Montreal. The PLQ may have brandished the scarecrow of Law 96 on French, which the elected officials supported, nothing helped. And the independence project, as QS limply carries it, scares no one.

It is a blow for the PLQ, but also for its interim leader, Marc Tanguay, who should put aside his desire to run for the leadership of the political party. According to the latest Léger poll published in our pages, not only the vast majority of Quebecers do not know him, but among those who are able to recognize him, a clear majority has a rather bad opinion of him. It’s bad beginning. The misfortune is that these poor results in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne are not likely to encourage big names to get into the race.

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