I witness with sadness mixed with hope the now public crisis which is shaking Québec solidaire (QS). I carefully read the texts written by party activists. That also of Alexa Conradi, ex-president of Québec solidaire. Columnist Michel David, for his part, believes that it will be impossible to reconcile the irreconcilable at the National Council scheduled soon in Saguenay. I hope with all my heart that he is wrong. For what ?
Because the state of the world and that of Quebec requires that QS activists make political and economic decisions together that respond as best as possible to gigantic challenges such as: literally saving the planet and especially the populations who live there, reducing substantially the inequalities between the rich and powerful and the majority of people, fight all forms of discrimination, give ourselves the democratic powers necessary to decide, as a people, what we want for ourselves and for future generations.
To succeed in this, Québec solidaire must know how to “walk and chew gum at the same time”! Obviously, we must engage in and with social movements, dare to challenge preconceived ideas, adopt practices marked by feminist thinking, but also work with determination and patience within an elected parliament. Because decisions are made there which sometimes have dramatic consequences in the lives of our fellow citizens. I am thinking, for example, of the sneaky privatization of public services, the centralization of powers in Quebec, the insignificance of the measures taken to combat climate change, the derisory responses to the tragedy of access to housing.
We need the team of solidarity deputies to protest, propose, sometimes obtain modifications to laws with serious consequences for the Quebec population.
And, of course, Québec solidaire must imagine itself as an elected government and prepare for it. It won’t be a piece of cake! All those who frog on the right, the businessmen, the satisfied multimillionaires, the fossil fuel magnates and the opinion makers who are agitated around them will be waiting for this government firmly. Significant support from the Quebec population will prove essential. This is why Québec solidaire must take stock of its duties, starting now, with the militant support of its members in all regions.
I’m not from the school of score-settling. Doing politics differently means deciding that Quebec deserves for its only left-wing party to unite by finding ways of passage that are satisfactory for the majority of members. It’s the only way I know how to move forward and it was feminists who taught it to me. Remarkable activists like Madeleine Parent, with such a soft voice and such powerful words. A unifier.
So reviewing positions that could be improved without crossing out everything, thinking about new issues, creating ways of working that combine democracy and efficiency, yes, there are major challenges for QS. Be angry and hopeful, keep your head in the stars and your feet on the ground, your heart always on the left, environmentalist, feminist, independence activist.
I have confidence that collective wisdom and the desire for unity will prevail in Saguenay. For Quebec.