More than three weeks after the heavy electoral defeat of the Liberals, leader Dominique Anglade believes that party members must meet “quickly” in congress and decide on its leadership.
“It’s important for the party,” she said in an interview with The duty. So that they have enough time to organize everything, the convention — and the holding of its next vote of confidence — “will not be in January [prochain] “, however, specifies Mme England.
Ideally, it will also not be in November 2023, as currently provided for in the statutes of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ). “These are decisions that will be made in the coming weeks. [par l’exécutif du parti] “, she explains, sitting on the sofa of the” smallest county office “in Quebec, which is located rue Saint-Jacques, in Montreal. The walls of the room, khaki green, must also be repainted, noted the member for Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne. What will the new color be? “Red,” she replies tit for tat.
Despite historically low results on October 3, with only 21 constituencies won (6 fewer seats than when the National Assembly was dissolved last August), and 14.4% of the popular vote (compared to 24.82% in October 2018), Dominique Anglade is convinced that she is “always the right person” to lead the PLQ.
However, on October 12, several former elected officials and defeated Liberal candidates confided on condition of anonymity to The Canadian Press that they wanted Dominique Anglade to leave. “We are the day after an election. That there are people who have a certain frustration, it’s normal, I understand that, ”said the leader of the official opposition in the National Assembly, in a calm tone.
The latter gives importance to those who “testify with their faces uncovered”. “There are enough people who come to see me to say to me: ‘Dominique, we are here because you are here, we want you to stay, we want to contribute, we want to represent ourselves.’ This is what you build on. »
What score does she want to obtain in the next vote of confidence? “Honestly, I’m not there at all,” replies the 48-year-old politician. Maybe I’ll be asked that question every day for a year. I don’t want to, though,” she said.
Not “enough time” for content
Because of its crushing defeat, the PLQ has a “tremendous job to do on the ground”, admits Mme England. Even if she had bet on a Charter of the regions in her electoral platform, only one deputy was elected outside the greater metropolitan area. The chief attributes this to the “little time” they had to present this promise of regional revitalization.
At the start of the election campaign, the PLQ’s organizational problems — such as the withdrawal of candidates — “completely obscured the content aspect,” she laments. “It’s a learning curve for me, the fact that […] if you have to respond to these issues, you cannot respond to anything else. »
She assures that there will be changes within her training, without however saying more. “You can’t think you’re going to do the same thing the same way and it’s going to give a different result,” says the chef.
The party will also have to think about its positioning, she adds. The rise in popularity of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) with the English-speaking electorate forces this reflection, says Mr.me England. It is all the more important to “constantly build” bridges with this community, she stresses.
“Feminine” leadership
Exercise a “ female leadership” also means “hearing all the voices around the table”, explains Ms.me England. It also means being aware of certain problems “because you experience them”, she explains, looking into the distance. “I know what it’s like to look for daycare for your children and not find one. »
However, it is also a question of moving away from a “paternalistic approach” present in politics, she specifies, while pointing the finger at Pierre Fitzgibbon. The passage of the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy to the issue Economy Zone on RDI, last Monday, is an example not to follow, according to her.
The President and CEO of Hydro-Québec, Sophie Brochu, will be invited to the energy transition committee table “so that she can understand” to whom “we [le gouvernement] gives us our energy,” Mr. Fitzgibbon said.
“It’s not that she doesn’t understand, she doesn’t agree,” says Dominique Anglade, indignant. A few days earlier, Mr.me Brochu had expressed his concerns about maintaining Hydro-Québec’s independence in the event of the consolidation of the Energy and Economy portfolios, which Premier François Legault made official when forming his new Council of ministers a week ago.
Mme Anglade says she “noticed immediately” this “way of thinking” marked by paternalism, according to her.
The politician also deplores the valorization of “combat” in politics, an aspect that women like less, she says. “That’s what we want to have, […] who hits the hardest, clenching his fists. Is that really what politics is? Does it need to be that? The answer is no, ”she argues as the resumption of parliamentary work approaches.