On the eve of the October 2022 elections, François Legault felt the need to dispel the bad impression that his first mandate had perhaps left. “I am someone who listens. The pandemic has made me more humble than ever,” he assured.
While the government will soon be halfway through a second mandate, we cannot say that this listening and this humility are obvious. The term “arrogance” would undoubtedly better describe the image he projects.
The Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, has always considered those who question his decisions, whether opposition MPs or journalists, as philistines. who understand nothing about economic development. To worry about the haste with which the government gave the green light to Northvolt can only be ignorance or bad faith.
The Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, who had advised victims of the housing crisis to invest in real estate, missed another opportunity to show some empathy when she declared that houses accommodation for abused women is too expensive.
Even the friendly Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, showed his annoyance last week when he was questioned by the media about the reaction of credit agencies to a deficit of 11 billion, which his own colleague MP for Saint- Jérôme, Youri Chassin, described it as “dizzying”.
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The rise in the cost of living in all its manifestations has created strong discontent, both in Quebec and in the rest of Canada. Mr. Legault is no more responsible for this than his colleagues from other provinces, but he should ask himself why he is the most unpopular prime minister today, when he was the darling not so long ago. .
His government, however, distributed billions in checks and tax credits to soften the effects of inflation. We can be of the opinion that this aid should have been better targeted, but that is not enough to explain such widespread dissatisfaction.
The waiting time in the emergency room is undoubtedly longer in Quebec than in other provinces, but the phenomenon is not new. And then Ontario also lacks teachers, to the point of having to turn to unqualified personnel.
In contrast, no other province gave its MPs a 30% salary increase while queues grew longer at food banks. While Mr. Legault continually points out our wealth gap with Ontario, Quebec voters have struggled to understand why members of the National Assembly should be paid more than at Queen’s Park or anywhere else in the country. .
Hockey fascinates Canadians as much as Quebecers, but not to the point of subsidizing a Californian club with millions to come and play two exhibition games on this side of the border.
Nor did the media in English Canada report the case of a minister who indulged in pheasant hunting with his millionaire friends and who took offense at being criticized for it. In the case of Mr. Fitzgibbon, Mr. Legault seemed rather amused.
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The latest Léger poll indicates that the rout of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is getting worse. With 22% of voting intentions, or 19 points less than in the last elections, it could be confined to the role of second opposition group. The fall still has to stop there.
The decline over the past year is observable in all age groups and all regions, but it is in Quebec that it is most marked. Last year at this time, the CAQ was 23 points ahead of the Parti Québécois (PQ); she is now 20 points behind.
More than anywhere else, voters clearly have the feeling of having been deceived by a party to which they had been loyal from the start. In memory, the Quebec region had never been the one where the PQ found its strongest support.
Mr. Legault probably would not have thought he would see the day when Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois would be seen as as good a candidate as him for the post of Prime Minister. He assures that he is not thinking about his future, but some at the CAQ could soon begin to wonder if the founding father has not become a burden. This is the conclusion that many PQ members reached during the second term of René Lévesque, who chose to bow out before being shown the door. The PQ survived his departure, but would the CAQ survive that of François Legault?