Since the foreseeable abandonment by the Legault government of its promise of a 3e link between Quebec and Lévis, Éric Caire, its number 1 cantor for years, eats a whole lot, politically speaking.
• Read also – 3rd link: Duhaime wants Eric Caire’s head and seat
• Read also – Éric Caire’s broken promise: voters support him, others want his resignation
For having sworn stubbornly that he would put his seat at stake if the project did not materialize, Éric Caire trapped himself. His refusal now to resign makes him a prime target for opposition parties.
Because the tenacious popularity of Prime Minister François Legault makes him untouchable, the deputy for La Peltrie and Minister of Cybersecurity necessarily takes on the air of a sacrificial lamb for them.
Failing to be able to shake the pillars of the CAQ temple, they target Éric Caire, by far, the weakest link in the government.
By calling for his resignation, the opposition parties are thus reminding voters of the CAQ’s broken promise, however justified. In short, the former “sheriff” of the CAQ did not leave the inn.
Éric Duhaime sees in it a more rewarding bone to chew on than his retrograde crusade against drag queen tales. In front of the offices of Éric Caire, the conservative leader announced the launch of a petition aimed at dismissing the hated deputy, coupled with a fierce campaign on the ground.
Mr. Duhaime pushes the irony to draw inspiration from a bill presented in 2011 by the “sheriff” himself when he was drawing at the Blue Room faster than his shadow.
Classic populist idea
His stillborn bill provided that a deputy, under certain conditions, could be impeached by his constituents. A classic populist idea, the risk of which is however to subject elected officials to the blackmail of any pressure group the least bit well organized.
This is why PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s suggestion to table a similar bill “in the event of a major breach of trust and breach of a solemn commitment with voters” is ill-advised.
If he has the slightest notion of the importance for an elected official of his given word, it is rather Éric Caire who is responsible for resigning.
Especially since as long as he clings to his seat, he will serve as a scapegoat for the opposition while recalling the government’s broken promise.
In other words, if Mr. Legault is tempted to save Private Cairo for his past service to the ADQ, he risks making it a permanent drag.
Even Duhaime doesn’t want it
When even Éric Duhaime, in the middle of a raiding operation in the caquistes tillers, does not want Éric Caire, the mass is fairly said for the deputy for La Peltrie.
At the start of a strong second term, François Legault surely suspects that his electorate will forgive him his requiem of 3e link. However, the damage within his caucus promises to be more difficult to manage.
Hence his decision to meet his disconcerted elected officials from the greater Capitale-Nationale region on Tuesday. Not that a rebellion awaits. The ascendancy of François Legault over his troops remains intact.
He must nevertheless listen to them and explain to them why the devil the decision of such a major shift was taken without them.
They will also want to know why Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault, whose ambitions to succeed Mr. Legault one day are obvious, was the sole bearer.
Despite the popularity of the CAQ within its electorate, the cohesion of its caucus is at stake – a precious commodity.