Conservative leader Éric Duhaime is under pressure at his party convention this weekend, where several activists do not hide their dissatisfaction with his leadership.
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Éric Duhaime was visibly nervous before speaking in front of conservative activists who are gathered at a conference in Lévis this weekend. In particular, he will have to submit to a vote of confidence on Sunday.
Welcomed by polite applause, which had nothing to do with the ovations he received during last year’s election campaign, the Conservative leader gave a speech in which he tried to show his credentials.
He insisted in particular on his proposal to remove the mention “Équipe Éric Duhaime” from the official name of the party. “The party must send a signal at the end of the week that the PCQ is not the party of Éric Duhaime, that it is the party of the members,” he said.
In doing so, he responded to a criticism that is on the lips of many conservative activists. “Eric manages the party alone from his cell phone… I’m sorry, can we consult the members?” confided in the corridors a very popular figure within the PCQ, the former candidate in Beauce-Sud, Jonathan Poulin. “The CAQ has been criticized for being a one-man party. We shouldn’t do the same thing.”
“A party must always be stronger than its leader,” said the former candidate in Bellechasse, Michel Tardif, who deplores that the PCQ has lost 40,000 members over the last year. “They didn’t renew their card. This is the time to focus on building a base for the party,” he said.
In his speech, Éric Duhaime also reminded members of the progress the party has made under his leadership. “I ask you not to lose sight of the path we have traveled,” he said.
He also argued that the work done since the last elections is “more phenomenal” than their rise in the polls in the months preceding the election. “We went back up the stairs (…), and the conservatives came back home,” he said, after conceding that several people “deserted,” disappointed by the party’s failure to do elect a deputy.
Finally, the conservative leader tried to galvanize his troops by throwing points at François Legault, a prime minister according to him “tired and worn out who no longer knows where to lead his troops”.
A few moments earlier, Éric Duhaime assured that he intends to remain at the head of his political party, even if he proposes to remove his name from the party’s name. But when asked whether he would stay in office if he was shown the door during the vote of confidence, he simply replied: “I will let the members vote.”