Even if the blows sometimes come very quickly, the National Assembly is not a Grand Slam tennis tournament.
At Wimbledon, the seeds get a pass that takes them straight to the court, skipping the qualifying round.
But in Quebec, it is time to revisit the old tradition that requires political parties not to present a candidate in a by-election in order to allow the leader of an opposing party to enter the National Assembly.
A complementary election, there will soon be one in the riding of Marie-Victorin, left vacant following the election of Catherine Fournier as mayor of Longueuil. This opens the door to Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, appointed leader of the Parti Québécois in October 2020, without being a member.
Should we leave the field open to him? Nothing obliges him. There is no written or unwritten agreement to this effect. Just an informal tradition that has been applied often over the past decades.
In 1996, the Liberal Party (PLQ) and the Democratic Action did not present a candidate against Lucien Bouchard in the constituency of Jonquière, which allowed him to be elected with 95% of the votes and to take over. Jacques Parizeau as Prime Minister.
The Liberals did not present candidates against André Boisclair in 2006, nor against Pauline Marois in 2007. In turn, the Prime Minister left the field open, in 2013, to Liberal leader Philippe Couillard.
Then in 2017, the PQ leader, Jean-François Lisée, had not stood in the way of solidarity Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, hoping that the two parties would share the constituencies during the general elections, which never worked.
Which brings us to today …
For the Liberal leader, Dominique Anglade, allowing Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to enter the National Assembly without opposition is the “elegant thing to do”.
OK. But this “elegance” does not cost the Liberals dearly, who came fourth in Marie-Victorin in the last election. And if they were to present a candidate, the outcome could be even more dire, given the internal feuds plaguing the party.
For its part, Québec solidaire fully intends to campaign. The party feels carried by the winds of change which have been blowing since the election of several progressive mayors whose message matches his on affordable housing and transportation.
It is therefore understandable that those in solidarity do not want to give way.
It is true that the entry of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon would allow the PQ to better present its ideas and ask questions to the National Assembly, thus enriching the political game. But in a democracy, voters should not be deprived of the opportunity to express their real choice.
Times have changed in Quebec. The old political “fair play” is playing out less well with the proliferation of parties, some of which are small. Where to draw the line? It is one thing to give a laissez-passer to a Prime Minister or a Leader of the Opposition. But would we roll out the red carpet of the National Assembly for a small party like that of Eric Duhaime which has only one member, elected under another banner?
Ideally, a leader should win the electorate through his charisma, personality and ideas, rather than winning in a ballot without competition.
This leaves Paul St-Pierre Plamondon in a dire dilemma. Marie-Victorin is no longer the PQ stronghold that it was. In the last election, Catherine Fournier narrowly won, with a lead of just 705 votes.
If the CAQ decides to present a candidate, it has every chance of winning, since the polls give it more than half of the popular vote in the 450, far ahead of the other parties.
If Paul St-Pierre Plamondon shows up and loses, he will demoralize PQ members on the eve of the general election. And if he doesn’t show up, he will appear to lack self-confidence.
But this stalemate is no reason to offer him a riding on a silver platter.
What do you think? Express your opinion