The merger of the Ralliement pour Montréal and Mouvement Montréal parties was one of the highlights of the last municipal campaign. But as soon as it was consummated, on October 12, this improvised marriage experienced a spectacular divorce.
Now that the elections are a thing of the past, the two protagonists have agreed to tell me about this episode as painful as it is incredible.
It was on Tuesday September 28 that the idea of an alliance between these two parties was born. And this initiative came from Ralliement pour Montréal.
“During a meeting with the members of my board, we suggested creating a merger with another party,” says Marc-Antoine Desjardins, leader of this party. We were aware that with 5 points in the polls, we were not the third option. Someone mentioned Mouvement Montreal. I could see that Balarama Holness was the antithesis of who we were. But sometimes you have to have a romantic dream. ”
Result: the two chefs had breakfast together the next day. “I first told Balarama that I had been approached by Denis Coderre,” says Marc-Antoine Desjardins. Sources in the entourage of the fallen candidate have indeed confirmed this information to me.
It was clear that if I told him no, he would go with Denis Coderre and that would put my chances to zero.
Balarama Holness, about Marc-Antoine Desjardins
Then, in the evening, a supper is organized with leaders of both parties. We agree to announce an alliance the next morning, September 30. “I told him to refocus his ideas on the language and the definition of the SPVM,” says Marc-Antoine Desjardins. He told me that he was not going to touch the Charter of Montreal. ”
On the morning of the announcement, Marc-Antoine Desjardins asked that the press release be sent to members of his team before the event. A mess ensures that candidates from Ralliement pour Montréal learn the thing during the press briefing. This is the case of Jean-François Cloutier who, present on site, is “in a state of shock”. The latter, as well as Brigitte Lamoureux, will be among the first to leave the ship.
Immediately after this announcement, the two merged parties only have a few hours to confirm all of their candidacies. Ralliement pour Montréal has 17 and Mouvement Montréal has 43. Others are added at full speed.
” It was a forehead, his business, says Marc-Antoine Desjardins speaking of Balarama Holness. All the other candidates who came after were poles. ”
From there, there was sand in the gear. Marc-Antoine Desjardins has trouble obtaining information and understanding his colleague’s intentions. He shared it with those around Balarama Holness.
We were handcuffed and it was too late. The transfer of candidates was done. We were packed. He could do whatever he wanted. Basically, he had no intention of walking with us.
Marc-Antoine Desjardins, about Balarama Holness
The problem is that he still saw himself as leader or co-leader, retorts Balarama Holness, when he was only a simple candidate who had little affinity with the party line. The tank his party’s gas was empty when he came to see me. This is the story. ”
A two-hour meeting is organized before the famous press conference which took place on October 12. “I wanted to make sure that he was not going to talk about the definition of the police and a referendum on the language, but rather of a popular right of initiative as he had done with systemic racism”, explains Marc-Antoine Desjardins.
But the next day, in front of journalists, Balarama Holness declares that he wishes to hold a referendum on the linguistic status of the metropolis and addresses the issue of funding for the Police Department of the City of Montreal, which he wishes to reduce.
Marc-Antoine Desjardins stands by his side. He is petrified. “I was listening to him and I was like, ‘What the f…, where is he going with this?’ I couldn’t believe it. I was like in a fifth dimension. I was so in tabarnak. ”
Balarama Holness does not understand Desjardins’ reaction. “Did he tell you that he was the one who proposed to hold a referendum on the language and that he changed his mind 24 hours before the press conference?” Ask him and we’ll see if he’s honest. ”
“He’s playing with words once again,” replies Marc-Antoine Desjardins. He knows very well the difference between a referendum and a right of initiative. ”
Marc-Antoine Desjardins leaves the conference in a rage. In the evening, the two men have a heated discussion. “I understood that he did not want to displease a core of his team. The refocusing that I wanted to do created a mixing in his party. ”
Discussions between those who wanted to put aside the baffles when they merge sometimes turn sour. “During one of our discussions, he told me that he didn’t give a damn about the Office de la langue française and the Charter of the French language,” says Marc-Antoine Desjardins. That’s when I told myself that was enough for me. ”
Balarama Holness denies having said such things.
The day after this press briefing, the candidates Jean-Philippe Martin and Sylvain Medzalabenleth abandoned the party. This comes after the departures of Marc-André Bahl, Katchik Ebruchumian and Jean-Pierre Boivin, candidate in Verdun, who preferred to continue as an independent.
Finally, after six days of reflection, Marc-Antoine Desjardins announces that he is withdrawing from the party. “I was naive,” he says. I blame myself for having walked this path. I did not listen to my heart or my political instinct. Mea culpa! I fully accept this error. “
The only positive aspect of this campaign is that we saw who this guy really was. I brought to light the fact that he has no speech.
Marc-Antoine Desjardins, about Balarama Holness
A few minutes after the announcement of the departure of Marc-Antoine Desjardins, Balarama Holness declares that he is not surprised by this decision and adds that, in any case, his colleague “had very little chance of winning at the Outremont town hall ”.
“What Marc-Antoine Desjardins is trying to do right now is to regain personal dignity,” Balarama Holness adds in an interview. The guy still left the race ten days before the end. ”
This story is one of a fusion created in urgency and improvisation, two things with which politics must constantly contend, but which can be a fatal poison. We have proof of that.
She also tells us that a valid third vote was sorely lacking in this election.
And that the creation of a political party, even on the municipal scene, is a high-flying operation.