François Legault would have foreseen the rise of the Conservative Party of Éric Duhaime. “I told you it was going to get tighter, so I was right,” he said on Wednesday when he arrived for question period.
The leader of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) reacted to the publication of a new Léger poll, which now places the Conservatives ahead of Québec solidaire (QS) and the Parti québécois (PQ).
Éric Duhaime’s party would collect 14% of voting intentions, at a time when many Quebecers are experiencing a pandemic fed up, against 12% for QS and 11% for the PQ.
He would not have managed to overtake the Liberals (20%) and would still be far from the CAQ (41%).
But the Conservative Party would suddenly find itself second among Francophones and third among 18-34 year olds, according to the survey carried out among 1,017 Quebecers from February 11 to 13.
Satisfaction with the CAQ government would be falling: 55% of respondents say they are still satisfied with the government. They were 60% on January 19th.
“Me, I take nothing for granted”, reacted prudently the Prime Minister Legault, for whom the domination of the CAQ in the next elections is not assured.
“It doesn’t worry me at all”
In the corridors of the National Assembly, the Caquiste deputy for Chauveau, Sylvain Lévesque, indicated that he did not feel particularly threatened.
It is well known that the riding of Chauveau, which is located in Quebec, is in the sights of the Conservatives.
“We are six months away from the election,” said Mr. Lévesque. A little patience is normal, people are angry, there is frustration expressed. It doesn’t worry me at all. »
You’re not afraid of losing your seat, a reporter asked him. “Not at all,” he replied. I have a very positive balance sheet. »
According to independent MP Claire Samson, who joined the Conservatives in June, Mr. Duhaime is climbing in voting intentions because he is speaking “inclusive and unifying”.
In the press scrum, she predicted that the success of the conservatives would endure over time. “The dissatisfied will still be there. People have memory,” she said.
52,000 members
Conservative leader Éric Duhaime also believes that the consequences of the pandemic and “abusive” health measures will continue to be felt in Quebec for a long time to come.
The health crisis will have revealed a new divide, according to him, between defenders of individual freedoms and “those who are concerned about security issues”.
“It is a new political reality, and I believe that the Conservative Party is on one side, and the other four parties, on the other”, he summarized in English during a press briefing. in the National Assembly.
According to his analysis, Quebecers will reject the “four traditional parties” in the next election to turn to the Conservative Party, which is “the voice of those who have been abandoned”.
Moreover, Éric Duhaime intends to defend the ideas of his party — and of its 52,000 members — during the leaders’ debates during the election campaign.
For example, he believes that Quebec is ripe for a new approach to health.
“If the government is not able to provide us with services in a reasonable time, well, it should pay, then offer us services in the private system”, he illustrated, Wednesday.
“If there are people who want to exclude us from the leaders’ debate, I can’t wait to see what argument they will come up with,” he added.
Mr. Duhaime maintains that dissatisfaction with the CAQ government is a “heavy trend”. “The popularity of the Legault government is in freefall. And that, to me, is encouraging. »