François Legault is a politician in a class of his own. You don’t create a political party from scratch and then win two majority mandates in a little over a decade without having extraordinary political flair. But when he makes a blunder, it is spectacular.
This is why he has just experienced the worst week of his political career, a week which will leave its mark. Because there have been so many twists and turns in the third link case that the last thing to do was to add more.
For the ministers who went to bat for the team in this matter, Geneviève Guilbault, Bernard Drainville and Martine Biron, there is certainly the feeling of having been cheated by their leader. And for those who have never been convinced of the project, Pierre Fitzgibbon or Eric Girard, for example, it’s like a bad dream that never stops starting again.
All these and many others will now have a little less confidence in their leader. Especially since Mr. Legault chose to question the abandonment of the third link alone, in a night which did not bring advice.
Especially since Jean-Talon’s constituency has never been a CAQ stronghold and the departure of a disappointed MP after only one year of a four-year mandate could have shocked many voters. This by-election was therefore not a great test of the government’s popularity. And going from 90 to 89 deputies is not tragic.
The reality is that Mr. Legault rather misread the causes and consequences of the defeat in Jean-Talon. The third link was not at the heart of the electoral campaign, it was barely mentioned.
Pollster Jean-Marc Léger also highlighted this week that the main concerns of Jean-Talon voters were the cost of living, health and housing.
In fact, all public services are targeted when we talk about health. Many citizens are worried about the deterioration of the services they expect from the State. All the great promises of having a family doctor for everyone or of reducing waits in emergency rooms have simply not come true.
Faced with this deterioration that everyone is seeing, the government’s response in the two main state budgets, health and education, is to table bills which provide for a major administrative reform of these two sectors. The time of the two ministers is ultimately more occupied by the adoption of mammoth bills than by improving services to citizens.
The deterioration of services is partly explained by a deterioration of facilities and infrastructure. We can no longer count the number of schools, CHSLDs and hospitals that need major renovations.
But when we look at the priorities of the CAQ government, we realize that we much prefer new equipment and ribbon cuttings.
The government brags more readily about the construction of new schools – almost exclusively in CAQ districts, moreover – than about the renovation of schools which are no longer up to standard. We talk a lot about Seniors’ Homes – with rooms costing up to $1 million – but we are far behind on the renovation of CHSLDs, which will remain the backbone of the network for a long time to come.
However, it would be time to have a major infrastructure renovation program rather than putting so much effort into new construction. Especially since renovation is very often less expensive and therefore more profitable than building new. But that makes less beautiful images than a ribbon cutting.
After this difficult week, to regain the initiative, the government will move on to the Romaine complex, all linked to the “battery sector” which the government has made its priority.
During the election campaign last year, Mr. Legault had already talked about increasing production at the Romaine complex. There should undoubtedly be a public debate on the issue, but for the Prime Minister, the cause has already been heard.
“Yes, it will take electricity. It’s not true, those who tell you that we’re going to get there just with wind power and energy efficiency… It’s going to take either dams or nuclear power. Our choice is the dams. This is the legacy of Robert Bourassa,” he said in September 2022 in a speech to the Union of Municipalities of Quebec.
The message of Jean-Talon’s partial was not to increase ribbon cutting ceremonies, it would be much more to take better care of what already exists and which is deteriorating before our eyes. But this message does not seem to have been understood by the Prime Minister.