Despite the fact that only 5% of Francophones in Quebec still trust the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), the Liberals locked themselves in delirious denial during their 33e Congress. Instead of opening up new perspectives, they have brought out their old business to please their anglophone and allophone clientele, captives of the PLQ, which remains the only resolutely federalist party.
As we know, under the rule of Charest and Couillard, the PLQ alienated francophones by liquidating nationalist Quebec in favor of an unconditional federalism in which the population no longer found itself. As for Dominique Anglade, his small steps aside during the election campaign were not enough to prevent the desertion of Quebec federalists. For his part, the current interim leader, Marc Tanguay, is on sight in the Liberal fog.
The PLQ painted itself in the corner by abandoning its brand image which responded to the federalist aspirations of Quebecers.
François Legault knew how to jump on the ball by taking up the torch of Lesage’s “Maîtres chez nous” and flirting with the cultural sovereignty of Bourassa. Front nationalist and conditional federalist, and moreover become the party of the economy, the Coalition avenir Québec henceforth occupies the place of the PLQ on the political spectrum of Quebec. In addition, the defense of Canadian multiculturalism à la Trudeau is increasingly assumed by Québec solidaire, which wants to be the spokesperson for all minorities.
Thus, in recent years, the PLQ has lost its identity to other parties. Entrenched in his Rhodesian castles on the West Island, will the latter succeed in winning back the French-speaking vote outside of Montreal? Wanting to run two hares at once, does he not run the risk of taking none?
It’s quite a challenge that awaits the new chef to come. Will he be the savior or the gravedigger of the PLQ, this party whose origins go back to the beginning of the Confederation of 1867 and which constituted a party of government, most of the time, in the political history of Quebec?