In ancient Rome, when a victorious general paraded through the streets to celebrate his triumph, a servant posted just behind had to whisper in his ear endlessly: “Remember you are only a man.” ”
These wise words, Prime Minister François Legault should keep in mind, while the Coalition d’avenir Québec (CAQ) throne in the polls at the end of the stormy parliamentary session.
The government enjoys a popularity that has only grown with the pandemic, confirms a recent Léger poll. Elected with 37% of the vote, the CAQ today collects 46% of the voting intentions, while all the opposition parties are down compared to their electoral result of 2018.
If the next October poll were to take place today, the CAQ would elect 96 deputies and win more than three quarters of the 125 constituencies. Unheard of since Robert Bourassa’s Liberal election in 1985.
Faced with this announced triumph, the risk is to fall into arrogance. And when the ego no longer comes through the door, you become your own enemy.
The Prime Minister constantly reminds his deputies – and himself – which has not prevented the slippages in the National Assembly in recent months.
This week again, François Legault attacked the parliamentary leader of Quebec solidaire in a not very elegant way about baseball.
Instead of answering the very legitimate question from Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, who wanted to know if the CAQ was in favor of a subsidy “at zero cost” for taxpayers, the Prime Minister began to denounce the level of language of his rival who had compared the horrible meals served in CHSLDs to “bouette”. Colorful, maybe. But certainly not unworthy of a party leader, as claimed by Mr. Legault, who is rather the one who lacked height.
Of height, the Prime Minister also missed the day of the commemoration of the death of Joyce Echaquan. He who persists in not recognizing systemic racism, he had then made remarks unworthy of a head of state.
By dint of governing without sharing during the pandemic, the CAQ seems to have forgotten that we can not agree with it … while being a proud Quebecer.
We saw it when François Legault called Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois a “woke”, that is to say a person “who wants to make us feel guilty for defending the Quebec nation”, according to his definition.
We also saw it when Simon Jolin-Barrette called Liberal MP Marc Tanguay a “conspirator” because he questioned – in a very legitimate way, once again – the state of emergency which allows the CAQ to rule by decree for more than 600 days.
And the minister also found a way to tease the bun with the Chief Justice of the Court of Quebec, about the Specialized Tribunal in matters of sexual violence and domestic violence, and with the business community, about the reform of law 101.
Despite these skirmishes, the government’s record is positive. The CAQ is a government of action that has taken control of the management of the pandemic.
Among his feats of arms in recent months, we note the success of the vaccination campaign, which was a major issue. And also the introduction of the vaccine passport which, despite the controversy it aroused at the start, allowed the population to return to a slightly more normal life.
Public support for health measures has also paid off, since the province’s economy will rebound by 6.5% this year – more than elsewhere in Canada and around the world – which has given a margin to maneuver the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, to tackle the labor shortage and help the less fortunate struggling with the explosion of inflation, in his mini-budget.
We can also congratulate Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault, who took to the fore the serious problems of feminicides and violence among young people: Centaur squad against arms trafficking, anti-reconciliation bracelets for victims of violence. marriage, funding of community groups to prevent youth crime upstream, Bill 18 to change the police culture …
Hat ! We are going in the right direction.
Despite everything, flaws began to appear in the armor of the CAQ.
Yes, two-thirds of Quebecers are satisfied with the government. But barely a third find that the government has done a good job in terms of access to a family doctor and the management of CHSLDs during the pandemic.
They are hardly more impressed by the management of the health network, where the lack of personnel undermines emergencies. This has also forced the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, to backtrack after painting himself in the area with the compulsory vaccination of nurses.
We cannot fault the Liberal Party for exploiting these weaknesses by relentlessly calling for a public commission of inquiry into the management of the pandemic. After the massacre in Quebec, this is the least of things. But the chef Dominique Anglade went overboard by accusing the Prime Minister of having sent seniors “to the slaughterhouse” during the crisis in CHSLDs.
Decidedly, the kettle was whistling in the Salon Bleu, as the end of the session on Friday approached. But after 20 months of management in times of pandemic, the accumulated fatigue can explain some excesses.
So, happy holidays, dear politicians!