Analysis: Liberal Issues Go Beyond Dominique Unglaed’s Leadership

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Quebec — Ultimately, the pressure of failure was too great and she chose to withdraw.

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As many politicians have attempted in the past, Dominique Anglade chose not to resign immediately on Oct. 3 in the face of the worst electoral results (less than 15% of the vote) for liberals. I stuck to leadership as much as possible. long history of the party.

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The Liberal Party has fallen to 21 seats in Parliament from the 31 seats it won in 2018.

But if there are more people within the party who don’t support you than who support you – as was revealed last week – the clinging option quickly evaporates. As such, Anglad could not continue to hope that things would turn around in time for the party’s vote of confidence in November 2023.

“I am here before you to close a very rich chapter of my life and begin another.

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As history shows, it was usually an everyday problem, the creation of a liberal shadow cabinet, which led to the bankruptcy of Anglade.

Her decision to oust the MNA for Marie-Claude Nichols, Vaudreuil, who rejected the opposition role Anglade had carved out for her, opened the floodgates to pent-up frustration within the party, turning Angler against liberals. revealed how tenuous the retention of de was actually.

Her efforts to bring Nichols back made matters worse, and Nichols refused the olive branch.

This comes after the acclaimed leader, Anglade, joined her party after her only opponent, former Drummondville mayor Alexandre Kasson, withdrew in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s also a sign that you didn’t have time to connect. any leader.

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And managing personality is part of the job. Former Liberal Party leader Jean Charest was good at it. Not so with Philippe Couillard.

But behind the collapse of the Shadow Cabinet are deeper issues of the party that have come to light in the recent election campaign. Liberals not only failed to gain support from French-speaking voters, but after the liberals’ disastrous treatment of Bill 96, which overhauled the French-speaking charter, English-speaking people became more environmentally friendly. I saw it wander into the meadows.

On Monday, Anglade referred to the need for change in her own dignified resignation remarks, correctly suggesting that the party’s problems extend far beyond her own leadership and personality.

“Demographic, cultural, socioeconomic and ecological issues are too important to tear down official opposition,” said Anglade. “The Liberal Party of Quebec must renew not only its political agenda, but also its political approach.

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“We don’t have the luxury of being spoiled by an internal conspiracy that Quebecers don’t care about.”

When liberals said the same thing in 2018, reforms were called for to reconnect with voters comfortable with Quebec’s mix of nationalism and economic development in the ruling Avenir-Québec party.

Early in her brief leadership, Anglade attempted to change the party and in April 2021 presented a more nationalist language policy. A roving action team to encourage shopkeepers in downtown Montreal to use more French in their daily lives.

The Liberal Party initially supported Bill 96 elements of the CAQ and strengthened the law by inserting a provision at the commission level requiring English-speaking Quebecers to take more CEGEP courses in French. Did.

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Faced with backlash from English-speaking Quebecers, the party panicked and backtracked with Anglade allowing numerous interviews, saying liberals were not turning their backs on the community.

Many Montrealers and minorities chose a different political party in October, which took its toll. In addition to losing some horseback on the island, traditional fortress horseback saw a shrinking liberal share of the vote, for example Darcy McGee’s liberal approval rating dropped from her 74.32% in 2018. dropped to 51.41% of her.

In Notre-Dame-de-Grace, Liberal voter turnout fell from 62.98% in 2018 to 51.41% in 2022.

Statewide, the Liberal Party’s share of the vote fell from 24.82% in 2018 to 14.37% in 2022, losing 409,960 votes. It was the worst election result in the party’s 150-year history and a difficult pill to swallow for many liberals.

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The election will stand as proof that other things Anglade has tried to shake the dying liberals have gone wrong.One of the biggest is that he will be announcing in November 2021 that Anglade, if elected, will be a liberal. Nationalize the production and distribution of hydrogen as an alternative to petroleum.

The Green Shift has baffled traditional liberals.

But Anglade also got to work when there was a major political upheaval in Quebec. This was a factor in her death.As Laval University political scientist Eric Montigny recently pointed out, CAQ is a success. He combined the nationalism of the former Quebec Party with the liberal philosophy of sound economic management.

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This means that traditional parties like PQ and Liberal have lost much of their raison d’être, with Liberal essentially reduced to a party in Montreal. Anglade suffered the same fate as former PQ leader Jean-François Rizet did in 2018 when his party collapsed after fickle pro-independence voters moved to other parties.

Nonetheless, Anglade achieved a breakthrough during his seven years in politics. She was the first black woman in Quebec history to head a state political party. From 2016 to 2018 she served as Minister of Economic Development under Philippe Couillard, her engineer trained.

She was a founding member of CAQ, but left the party because she disagreed with CAQ’s position on identity and immigration. In her remarks on Monday, Anglade argued that she believes in an inclusive Quebec and that everyone has the right to realize their potential, regardless of where they come from. .

She was also widely respected by her opponents who tweeted comments praising her dedication to Quebec.

Prime Minister François Legault tweeted: “It takes courage to enter politics.

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Liberal Party spokesperson Maxime Doyon-Laliberté said late Monday that Liberal Party officials had announced the interim leadership as Nicholls would sit independent and Anglade would leave, along with the party caucus which would be number 19. He said they would meet shortly to nominate him.

Parliament will resume on November 29th, so the Liberals must act quickly. Anglade quits his job as an MNA two days later, on his December 1st, for Saint-Henri’s Sainte-Anne riding. He will hold a by-election.

Meanwhile, rumors were in full swing on Monday over a possible successor to Angrad. Like when Couillard stepped down in 2018, no clear savior is ready to rush to the rescue.

At the top of the list of possibilities is Pontiac MNA’s André Fortin, who chose to attend the final race of 2019 for family reasons. Former Liberal Party minister Pierre Moreau’s name also floats, but age may be a factor in his case.

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Saint Laurent MNA Malwar Rizky, who was considered last time, is on the list. She just gave birth to her first child.

Among the potential outsiders is the name of Hydro-Québec CEO Sophie Broche, who recently threatened to resign after an altercation with economic development minister Pierre Fitzgibbon. . But Brochu told Radio-Canada that she would not seek leadership.

Former Montreal mayor Denis Codell has emerged as a standout candidate for succession among Quebec citizens, according to a spot survey conducted by Léger on Monday for the Journal de Montréal and TVA. rice field. A total of 17% of the sample see him as a replacement.

Other names on the list are far behind.

pauthier@postmedia.com

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