The language of wood is a contagious disease which is caught as soon as one launches out in politics. With the lure of power, even the most talkative leave their old ideas in the locker room, under the incredulous gaze of voters.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Shirley Dorismond, Caroline St-Hilaire and Bernard Drainville did not have their tongues in their pockets before becoming candidates for the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ). But as soon as their candidacy was announced, they took the party line.
When asked about the old ideas they were loudly defending, they pull out the “tape” and repeat the party’s pre-recorded response.
Take the new MP for Marie-Victorin, Shirley Dorismond, who sharply denounced systemic racism with her former hat as vice-president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ).
She even wrote on Twitter that there would be no social justice as long as systemic racism existed. From now on, she avoids using this expression hated at the CAQ. His explanation? There is no consensus on the issue in Quebec and talking about systemic racism arouses division and hatred.
When it comes to U-turns, it’s hard to beat.
For Bernard Drainville, the taboo word is: sovereignty. However, the one who has just hung up his host microphone at 98.5 FM to run in the riding of Lévis is a former PQ minister. And not the least. The father of the controversial charter of values wanted to become leader of the Parti Québécois, whose primary raison d’être is the independence of Quebec.
But today, he totally adheres to the nationalist discourse of the CAQ. And his old life is just a memory. Sovereignty ? Radio silence.
Caroline St-Hilaire, who will wear the colors of the CAQ in the riding of Sherbrooke, is not left out. The former Bloc MP turned political commentator has never been shy about criticizing the third link on television.
Surprise, surprise. Here she is now in favor of this fetish project of the CAQ. Why this change of course? The new version of the project now includes a “very interesting public transport offer”, she explains. Oh good ? The revised and corrected project will only offer a lane reserved for buses during rush hours, whereas the initial project included a lane reserved at all times. Step back!
Of course, life is not static. Thoughts evolve. Society too. And that’s good. But this kind of forced conversion does not convince anyone.
We understand that the candidates cannot agree 100% with the political program of the party they join, which forces them to compromise on certain issues to which they attach less importance.
But their authenticity takes its toll when they deny central ideas that they defended a short time before. This is enough to undermine the population’s trust in our leaders, which is already anemic, at only 43%, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer.
For his part, environmentalist Steven Guilbeault maintained his opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline when he joined the Liberal Party, which had approved the project, but before its arrival. We didn’t hold it against him.
But in Quebec, party discipline leaves very little room for members who want to express a dissenting opinion, which would be healthy in a democracy.
The party line is stricter in the National Assembly than in the House of Commons, where free votes are more frequent… but never so much as in London, where free votes are the rule, unless otherwise stated.
In our country, the parties lead the debates within their caucus, away from the cameras, for fear that the differences of opinion of their MPs will be perceived as internal squabbles by the media and the voters.
Loyalty has its virtues. Unity too. But the deputies are not posts either. Why muzzle them when they have an important role to play?
If the CAQ is really a coalition, it could highlight the richness of its diversity.