The catastrophic polls for the Parti Québécois (PQ) did not dampen the mood of the pillars of the sovereignist movement, who gathered in numbers on Wednesday at the Quartier des Spectacles, in Montreal, to inaugurate an exhibition dedicated to the life of René Lévesque. No one, however, has any illusions about the outcome of the next election, and everyone has been careful not to criticize the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) too sharply.
Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, also present, even had the right to good words from Pierre Karl Péladeau, who welcomed the adoption of “Law 96” in his speech. But later, in an interview at To have tothe former leader of the PQ said that we could no longer clearly intend to vote for his former political party on October 3rd.
“I am a member of the Parti Québécois and I will vote for the Parti Québécois in the next election,” he limited himself to answering when asked if the PQ was still the right vehicle to promote sovereignty. .
Pierre Karl Péladeau also remained evasive about the role he could play in the next election campaign, not committing to participate in militant rallies as he has done in the past. “I happen to come across candidates from the Parti Québécois. […] But you know, I have a very busy schedule,” suggested the President and CEO of Quebecor, one of the main partners of Espace René-Lévesque.
Disappointment
This free exhibition which retraces the life of the founder of the Parti Québécois is presented outside until November 10 on the Place des Festivals. Also on site for the inauguration on Wednesday, Gilles Duceppe was much more talkative about the current political situation. The former leader of the Bloc Québécois said he was disappointed to see former elected sovereignists — Caroline St-Hilaire and Bernard Drainville — join the CAQ.
However, he spares his criticisms of them and recognizes that the current political context favors the CAQ. “In 1989, we weren’t even surveying sovereignty anymore. The journalist who would have written that Lucien Bouchard, personal friend of Brian Mulroney, would leave the government to found a sovereigntist party a few months later would have lost his job “, However, wanted to add Gilles Duceppe, as if to maintain a glimmer of hope as the start of the electoral campaign approaches.
As for Lucien Bouchard, precisely, he refuses to pass judgment on the current state of the PQ. The honorary president of the commemorations of the 100e birthday of René Lévesque had skinned the “lack of realism” of the formation last June in an interview granted to Radio-Canada. He then had nuanced his remarks following the publication of an open letter written by René Lévesque’s sister.
“I don’t want to play the political analyst, because I don’t know what will happen,” said the former prime minister today, who rejects the idea of openly supporting the PQ, or the CAQ, with a view to of the next election.