(Thetford Mines) Faced with the interest of former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre in the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), the phone of MP Marwah Rizqy began to ring. At the end of the line, businessmen consult her and are now thinking about getting started, she swears.
“I’m happy to see that there is interest [pour la course] and in the meantime, my phone actually rang. People who start to think sincerely. […] When Denis Coderre announced [son intérêt]other people said “me too, I have the taste”,” she declared Tuesday upon her arrival at the pre-sessional caucus of the official opposition, which is being held until Thursday in Thetford-Mines.
Like all his colleagues who spoke in a succession of press scrums, Mme Rizqy welcomes the interest of potential candidates in the party leadership race. Since one of them is Mr. Coderre, what does she think of his record at the head of Montreal? The MP laughed for a long time.
“It’s a laugh because it’s a difficult question to answer. Obviously, there was still a result. He campaigned on his record [comme maire de Montréal] and obviously, it did not end with a positive result,” she replied, referring to the two successive defeats of Denis Coderre at the town hall of the metropolis.
His spouse, MP Gregory Kelley, then added that Mr. Coderre is nevertheless recognized for being a politician present on the ground. “That’s something that’s important to the next leader,” he said.
According to Mme Rizqy, people who want to become leader of the PLQ will have to travel to reconnect the regions to the party, while several liberal associations have few or more members.
“In some places, there will be four or six of us [militants]. We have to rebuild from that. The person must be optimistic even though the assemblies will not be [toujours très] big,” she said.
Beauchemin reunites with his colleagues
The Liberal pre-sessional caucus also marks the return of MP Frédéric Beauchemin to the caucus. The latter was officially reinstated by his troops in mid-December, while the complaints of psychological harassment against him were withdrawn after a mediation process.
Mr. Beauchemin, who has never hidden his ambition to enter the race, welcomed the potential candidacy of Mr. Coderre.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, and Frédéric Beauchemin
“Mr. Coderre was a mayor of Montreal who did good things, [notamment] the arrival of the Bonaventure highway in the city center. Mr. Coderre is a very good politician, in the sense that he knows the machine. He is capable of organizing, he is capable of doing groundwork, he is a very good candidate to ensure that the party has more debates of ideas,” he said.
MP Michelle Setlakwe, who was a municipal councilor in the Town of Mount Royal on the island of Montreal when Denis Coderre was mayor, did not want to comment on her record.
“He’s a person I respect. I will not review it today. I welcome his candidacy and I am sure that there will be other candidates,” she said.
Interim chief Marc Tanguay, who spoke with Denis Coderre in recent weeks, for his part welcomed his interest.
“We all know him, Denis. He has his own style. He is outspoken. If he decides to run, I think he would bring, if necessary, dynamism to the race,” he said.
On his Facebook page, Mr. Coderre shared photos of books summarizing liberal values, while wishing the Liberal deputies a good caucus. Last October, in Drummondville, PLQ activists decided to elect their next leader in the spring of 2025, a little over a year before the next general election.