The trick to walking with too much coffee in your hands is to look away rather than staring at the boiling liquid that threatens to burn your fingers.
To look far ahead. Walk straight, despite obstacles. It is this assumed and inspiring vision that we expect from a good leader, whether a business leader or a head of state. And this is what the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has too often lacked since the start of its new mandate.
Shaken by the news, Prime Minister François Legault makes a series of untimely decisions and inconsistent setbacks, fueling his fall in the polls.
One misstep doesn’t wait for the next.
François Legault accuses the opposition of throwing mud at him, out of pure partisanship. But the government itself is mired in the mud with political financing.
On Thursday, a couple who lost their daughter in a road accident made a very shocking revelation. He was demanded to pay $200 to speak for a few minutes to Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault about his fully justified fight.1 to reduce the drink driving rate to 0.05.
The more the cases add up, the more we have the bad feeling that the CAQ had a modus operandi aimed at monetizing access to ministers, which is prohibited.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, Wednesday
The CAQ tried to put the lid on the pot last week by deciding to completely stop receiving private donations, while asking other parties to imitate it.
So let’s see! Abolishing private financing in politics cannot be done by snapping your fingers, without any other form of debate. And in any case, it is a false good idea which would notably risk slowing down the emergence of new political groups since all the financing would then come from the public… who pays the money according to the number of votes in the last elections2.
If the CAQ wanted to give the impression of washing whiter than white, it seems more like it wants to stifle criticism and competition.
Hasty decision. Failed operation.
Now let’s talk about political advertising: the CAQ has just made a U-turn by starting to advertise itself again on Facebook and Instagram.
Ah good ? Last summer, however, the CAQ had opposed Québec solidaire and the Liberal Party of Quebec, which had not embarked on the boycott movement in order to protest against Meta’s decision to block Canadian news from its platforms.
It’s difficult to justify the CAQ’s dubious U-turn. In the media, the dark streak continues. BCE announced new cuts on Thursday in addition to those of TVA, Coops de l’information, Metro Média, etc.
Beyond the layoffs, sad as they are, it is our culture and our democracy that are at stake. It is information, essential to the regions, which is being crushed by foreign giants, who monopolize advertising revenue without contribute to our society.
When will the plan promised by the Minister of Culture and Communications Mathieu Lacombe come? Radio silence. However, we need a clear and thoughtful vision from Quebec.
But these days, it seems more like the CAQ is playing in the improv league.
It seems that the CAQ was so stunned by its defeat during Jean-Talon’s by-election last October that it lost its way.
When the CAQ was created, François Legault sent the image of a businessman, independent of fortune, capable of making difficult decisions for the common good and the future of Quebec, without trying to cling to the power.
But today, he is engaged in political patronage, as demonstrated by his surprising whims (on 3e link remains the best example) and its ill-advised decisions (think of the increase in tuition fees for English-speaking students, criticized as much by French-speaking universities as by the advisory committee of the Minister of Higher Education).
By seeking to please some, the CAQ ends up displeasing many.
We see this in the Léger/ surveyTHE Montreal Journal broadcast this week. The Parti Québécois confirms its lead (32% of support), far ahead of the CAQ (25%).
However, this transfer of the nationalist vote is not due to a renewed support for sovereignty, which is stagnating at 35%, but to the personality of leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
By taking the reins of the PQ, at the worst moment in its history, PSPP promised to emphasize the independence of Quebec, despite the lukewarmness of the population in the face of the sovereignist option. He remained true to his convictions during the election campaign.
The closer the PQ gets to power, the more it will grapple with its eternal dilemma: talk about the separation of Quebec, even if it means losing votes, or talk about subjects that concern the population more, even if it means disappointing its supporters.
But for now, the consistency of PSPP allows the PQ to stand out from the CAQ, which too often indulges in improvisation.
In politics, that doesn’t make anyone laugh.
1. Read the editorial “In the field with our 0.08”
2. Read the editorial “Political financing, do we really need it? »