This summer, René Lévesque would have been 100 years old. Until August 24th, anniversary date, The duty highlights on all its platforms the memory of the founder of the Parti Québécois and one of the greatest prime ministers in history.
René Lévesque was “ woke in his own way,” says his son Claude. To such an extent that the politician behind the Parti Québécois would “probably” have had a chemistry with Québec solidaire, he believes.
“Was he woke ? In a certain way”, statue Claude Lévesque in an interview with The duty as part of the 100th anniversary of his father’s birth.
Both in his columns published in various newspapers and magazines and in his speeches, the former premier of Quebec has long opposed injustice. In a text from the Modern review dated 1960, the politician strongly condemned “this South African version of racial segregation baptized apartheid”.
Then in 1968, in Sunday morning, he urged Americans to follow the teachings of Martin Luther King. “To stand up to racism, and begin to overcome it, Americans will need to reincarnate King’s idea and its natural extension, the return of peace to Vietnam, as soon as possible,” he wrote.
“At the time, there were a lot of people who thought he was too left-wing. The left includes anti-racism. […] He was certainly anti-racist, ”says his son in the offices of the To have to in Montreal, a few hours before the launch at the Library and National Archives of Quebec of the Lévesque Year.
“He was quite open to feminist revolution. He was certainly aware of environmental issues, ”continues Claude Lévesque, ex-journalist.
René Lévesque did not wait long to talk about climate change. In a column he signed in The Journal of Montreal in 1972, the then leader of the Parti Québécois issued a warning about the “horrors” of pollution, “the most visible and familiar sign of the ravages that ‘civilization’ inflicts on the environment”.
At the time, there were a lot of people who thought he was too left-wing
“Maybe he was woke in his way ! points out Claude Lévesque. With many nuances. According to him, it is not impossible to believe that the founding father of the Parti Québécois (PQ) would have agreed – in certain respects – with Québec solidaire. “Probably,” he agrees.
” A little hard “
At the beginning of the month, former Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard threw a stone into the pond by suggesting that the PQ, which is having difficulty in the polls, could be replaced by “another vehicle” carrying the sovereignty project. Would René Lévesque have shared this reading? “Vehicles change, no doubt. That some can disappear, perhaps, analyzes Claude Lévesque. That the Parti Québécois is destined to disappear, I don’t think he would share this diagnosis. »
“If my father came back to Earth today, I don’t think he would renounce the party he founded,” he adds.
In Claude Lévesque’s eyes, former Premier Bouchard “was a bit harsh.” The latter also amended Monday evening at the launch of the Lévesque Year, saying that he should have formulated his comments differently.
Despite the difficulties experienced by the Parti Québécois, Claude Lévesque did not see support for independence eroding to the point of disappearing in Quebec. Even if it is “attenuated”, affirms the son of the creator of the Movement Sovereignty-association. “For her to die, there would have to be an alternative solution,” he says. I don’t think there is an alternative to peoples’ self-determination. »