The candidate in Outremont of the Coderre team, Dan Kraft, is withdrawing from the campaign. The aspiring advisor, who apologized in early October for sharing content questioning climate change and discrimination against blacks, said he was the victim of a “smear campaign”.
“Mr. Kraft is a university professor. The transition from academia, where debate and the exchange of ideas are at the heart of everyday life, to the political world is not easy. In politics, there is less interpretation and nuance. Dan learned it at his expense and that of his relatives, ”explained mayoral candidate Denis Coderre on the sidelines of a press conference Tuesday morning.
He at the same time confirmed that the choice to withdraw came from the candidate himself, indicating that “this morning, he announced to me that he and his family are no longer resisting the smear campaign”. “I wish him good luck in the future and the best to his family”, also launched Mr. Coderre.
Mr. Kraft’s problematic posts, which came to light a few weeks ago, were aimed in particular at sharing the video in 2019. The Great Global Warning Swindle (The big global warming scam).
In 2020, Dan Kraft also commented on a daily publication National Post about a black man who said he was arrested for an expired license plate when she was not. He then asked that we let “the police do their job” and accused the man and “many others to seek their 15 minutes of fame”. “I learned from my mistake and made a commitment to be more careful,” Mr. Kraft assured in the process. Immediately, Ensemble Montreal had reiterated its confidence in the man, saying above all that it wanted to “turn the page”.
An adventure that ends immediately
In a statement, Dan Kraft said that his involvement “has always been sincere, but that [son] political adventure ends immediately because of a smear campaign in [son] place “.
“For more than 20 years, I have been an activist in the fight against anti-Semitism and all types of discrimination, especially against minorities, but this is not what has been hammered out in recent weeks on social networks. As an immigrant, I can only have an open mindset towards diversity. I have been working in the field of renewable energies for over 20 years, but that too has not been disclosed, ”he said.
Without going back to his controversial remarks, Mr. Kraft “admits to having neglected the alert” launched by the Union of municipalities of Quebec (UMQ), which earlier denounced the radicalism and the hateful nature of social networks in politics “as a way to prevent greater citizen participation, ”he said. “I admit having neglected this alert and I deeply regret it, both for myself and for those who have supported me so far,” he insists, thanking his family, friends and volunteers.
I want voters to understand the importance of getting involved in community life, and of not being swayed by lies and hatred. We build society every day.
Dan Kraft
Other Coderre team candidates who were on the starting line have also left the campaign in recent weeks, for various reasons.
In September, for example, Mr. Coderre had excluded one of his star candidates, Joe Ortona, who is president of the English Montreal School Board (CESM), in the wake of the organization’s release of a document. controversial denying the existence of the Quebec nation. Lachine mayoral candidate Julie-Pascale Provost was also shown the door because she refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.