Jean Charest made a return to politics by running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. As its slogan indicates, it claims to be “built to win!” “. However, a return to politics is never guaranteed. In what line will Jean Charest be located?
Posted at 1:00 p.m.
At 63, Charest can accomplish the feat: having been Premier of Quebec and becoming Prime Minister of Canada. Former Premiers Robert Stanfield, Conservative of Nova Scotia, and Brian Tobin, Liberal of Newfoundland, failed to do so. The candidacy of Bernard Lord of New Brunswick for the leadership of the Conservative Party has been circulated in the past, but never materialized.
He was not premier of Alberta, but Stockwell Day served in several cabinets in that province before being elected leader of the Alliance. Despite his successful leap to the federal scene, Day failed to dethrone Jean Chrétien in 2000, nor did Joe Clark, who was attempting a return to politics as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Elected Canada’s youngest prime minister at age 40 in 1979, Joe Clark attempted a comeback after retiring from politics before the party’s humiliating defeat in 1993. At the time, two MPs, including Jean Charest, survived the debacle. Clark returned at age 59 in 1998 and won the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives again, following Charest’s departure for Quebec politics. Clark was re-elected MP in 2000. However, the party lost three seats in the election and subsequently left politics for good in 2002. His return was not successful, despite his experience.
Stephen Harper also left politics a few years before making a successful comeback. Elected MP for Preston Manning’s Reform Party at the age of 34 in 1993, Harper did not seek a second term in 1997 and headed a Conservative lobby group during his withdrawal. He did not return to politics until 2002 to defeat Stockwell Day as Alliance leader. He successfully merges the Conservative Party of today. In 2006, he became the 22and Prime Minister of Canada.
Among the federal Liberals, Jean Chrétien also left politics for a time after his leadership loss to John Turner in 1984. He resigned from his seat as an MP in 1986 to teach law. In reality, Chrétien was already working on his comeback, which he achieved in 1990 by beating Paul Martin in management. In 1993, he was elected Prime Minister, a position he held for more than 10 years.
Robert Bourassa: successful return to politics
On the provincial scene, Robert Bourassa, the youngest premier of Quebec, elected in 1970 at the age of 36, lost the elections against René Lévesque in 1976, and even his seat as deputy. After an academic political exile, which will bring him to Belgium, he will again win the Liberal leadership in 1983. Bourassa will be re-elected Prime Minister in 1985. Ironically, he won the election, but not his seat as a deputy. His successful return to politics is considered the most significant in Quebec history.
Will Jean Charest follow the same path as Robert Bourassa? There are certainly similarities in their paths and one can imagine that he is inspired by them. However, Jean Charest did not prepare his return as Chretien or Harper. In the last federal election, for example, he did not campaign with the Conservatives. Brian Mulroney, who is probably not preparing his return, campaigned with Erin O’Toole.
Above all, Jean Charest will have to avoid the pitfall of the failed returns of Joe Clark and Gilles Duceppe. The latter attempted a return to politics, at the call of Mario Beaulieu in 2015. Small similarity with the call of the conservative political lieutenant of Quebec, Alain Rayes, to Jean Charest so that he launches into the race.
Duceppe’s notoriety did not protect him against the orange wave of 2011 during which he lost his seat as a deputy, along with 43 of his Bloc colleagues. He will not be able to regain his seat in 2015, despite the fact that his party has gone from 4 to 10 elected. Duceppe can however comfort himself with the passing of the torch to his son, now a deputy.
Beware of those who would like to include the political return of Denis Coderre and his failed re-election as mayor of Montreal in the analysis. No comparison possible. Jean Charest is in another league.
In the last Conservative leadership race of 2020, Jean Charest passed. On September 10, we will know if the first stage of his return is successful, 10 years after his retirement from politics. In 2012, he had lost the government and his seat, like a certain Robert Bourassa.