Prime Minister François Legault will unveil the product of his deliberations over the past few days, Thursday, with his new Council of Ministers.
After the swearing in of his 89 deputies on Tuesday, he repeated that the “beautiful problem” he anticipated before the elections, with such a high potential for aspiring ministers, remained just as intact, as the decisive hour.
In a meeting that preceded the ceremony, Mr. Legault explained to members of his caucus that he was faced with “heartbreaking choices”, according to what a deputy explained to the To have to.
Impossible to know, however, if the CAQ leader would go so far as to repeat the words of his PQ predecessor René Lévesque, who, in his memoirs, described the composition of a Council of Ministers as a “baroque” task with the air of “punishment from the sky “.
“There is nothing easier at the start than making a cabinet. The first names line up on their own. But who does what? And who else to do the rest? Here is the puzzle”, he explained in his book Wait until I remember.
One thing is certain, the process has remained relatively hermetic, beyond the obvious evidence. During the election campaign, Mr. Legault has already reconfirmed the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, in his functions. It would also be surprising if the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, and his colleague from the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, were transferred.
Waiting for the call
Wednesday afternoon, elected officials were still waiting for a phone call to find out their fate. They rushed to answer at the first ring of their device kept probably very close to them.
Among the political staff, some had been warned that they would not know anything about their assignment before the announcement of the composition of the new Council of Ministers. Others had the leisure to refuse offers.
At the National Assembly on Wednesday, the slightest appearance of a CAQ minister or deputy was the subject of conjecture.
Pierre Fitzgibbon, Sonia Bélanger and Sylvie d’Amours have in turn fueled speculation after being seen on the hill.
The size of the Council of Ministers will probably increase from 26 to 29 seats, not counting that of Mr. Legault. It is possible that delegate ministers will be established or that Mr. Legault will choose to redraw ministries to distribute responsibilities.
In the pharmacies, several elected officials were of the opinion that almost all of the ministers appointed in 2018 will retain their posts. The number of newcomers, elected on October 3, could oscillate between one and six or seven. In the opinion of many, the former PQ minister Bernard Drainville will certainly be there.
An observer very experienced in caucus management, who preferred not to be identified, pointed out that Mr. Legault is in a position of strength thanks to his re-election, which greatly limits the room for negotiation of those to whom he offers a post. minister.
The challenge of the next mandate will be to maintain cohesion, and to do this, Mr. Legault will have to be very attentive to his caucus in order to respond quickly to any dissatisfaction, indicated this observer.
Opposition salutes
On Wednesday, the opposition did not wait for the formation of the Council of Ministers to strike a few blows at the CAQ troops.
Conservative leader Éric Duhaime has asked the government to “cut spending” like the “families of Quebec” and reduce the number of ministerial positions.
“I know that there are more mouths to feed this year, that the CAQ has more deputies, but I don’t think that’s a good excuse to justify that they give limousines to people so that they close the box for four years. »
During the election campaign, Éric Duhaime promised to limit the Council of Ministers to 20 people if elected.
Mr. Duhaime is precisely counting on the disappointment of aspiring ministers to convince at least caquistes to join his party, as he had done for Claire Samson in the past.
On the side of Québec solidaire, co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois has pledged, in this “climate year”, that his party will tirelessly pursue the Legault government so that Quebec achieves its climate objectives.
In a speech delivered at the conclusion of the swearing-in ceremony of the deputies in solidarity, he recalled the importance of the coming months, after having insisted throughout the electoral campaign on the fact that the next mandate would be that of the “last chance “.
“We have played with fire enough. The next year must be the climate year here,” he said.
With eleven united deputies on the benches of the Blue Salon, François Legault will not benefit from a “blank check”, added Mr. Nadeau-Dubois. “Québec solidaire will be a constructive opposition, a combative opposition, always ready to collaborate to advance Quebec and always ready to fight when the CAQ wants to make us go back,” he said.