Charest offers welcome to ADQ defectors
With the Action Democratique du Quebec still reeling after the departure of defeated leadership candidate Eric Caire and former house Marc Picard from its ranks, Jean Charest has evidently detected the opportunity to lay the ADQ to rest for good.
He's offered Picard and Caire -- as well as any other ADQ MNAs -- the opportunity to join the Liberal Party in the National Assembly.
"Politics is the art of inclusion," Charest announced. "For us the door has always been open, from all time. It is an open party and we will not change, but we will respect the choice of each MNA."
However, Charest has made no move to formally recruit Caire, Picard, or any other member of the ADQ.
"I can tell you from experience that if a member decides to make a change in his situation, whether to become an independent or to go elsewhere, if has to come from him," Charest added. "We are putting no pressure on the ADQ MNAs and yes we have known one another for a long time and that doesn’t prevent us from encouraging one another."
Not that Charest hasn't been talking to any of them.
"In fact I spoke to Mr Caire after his defeat," he said. "I also spoke to [Christian] Lévesque to congratulate him."
But one has to wonder whether or not all the members of the ADQ would be welcome to join Charest's caucus. After all, Charest has been threatening former ADQ interim leader Sylvie Roy with a libel suit for claiming that three of his cabinet ministers had met with a controversial construction magnate aboard the man's private yaught.
Then again, for the opportunity to put his conservative opposition to rest permanently, Charest may be willing to swallow his pride, and see if Roy is willing to do the same.
Rarely before has a long-established political party collapsed so quickly after managing to become the Official Opposition. But the ADQ has managed to accomplish this task.
The ADQ has evidently reached the end of its story, and Jean Charest is perfectly content to write its eulogy.
Showing posts with label Marc Picard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marc Picard. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Two More Nails in the ADQ Coffin
Caire, Picard split from ADQ
Gilles Taillon's efforts to salvage the Action Democratique du Quebec from the ashes of its drubbing in the 2008 Quebec Provincial Election has just become much more difficult.
Eric Caire, Taillon's primary rival for the ADQ leadership, and Marc Picard, the party's former House Leader, have both left the party to sit as independents.
This is only one more merciless blow to a party that has already suffered a continuous stream of defeats. In 2008, they were punted from Official Opposition status with a 34-seat loss.
Mario Dumont -- previously the only leader the party has ever known -- resigned from the leadership quickly after.
On June 22, 2009, the party lost Dumont's seat in the National Assembly to Liberal Jean D'Amour.
The party went on to conduct a long, drawn-out and often vicious leadership campaign in which policies and ideas took a back seat to personal and ad hominem attacks.
Now, fully one third of the parties MNAs have left their caucus.
Caire -- who, after his narrow defeat, stressed the importance of the party supporting Taillon -- complained that Taillon was pulling the party too far away from its conservative principles.
“It is no longer the party I joined,” Caire complained. "That ADQ no longer exists for me."
Caire even took the opportunity to lob one more hand grenade Taillon's way before departing from the party. "I think that the future of the ADQ depends on the leader of the [party]," Caire insisted, knowing full well that his departure effectively cripples the party.
He also blamed poor leadership qualities.
"[His is] a reign without teamwork, without having either the qualities or the charisma to do it," Caire added.
When a leadership campaign turns as deeply personal as the ADQ campaign did, it's only natural that the winner and losers will find themselves unwilling and unable to work together.
As Jean Lapierre has noted, the ADQ's failure to have a proper leadership contest has effectively spelled its end.
The ADQ's time has seemingly come. With it, so has the time for a new conservative party in Quebec.
Other bloggers writing about this topic:
Top Can of Contemplation - "Sore Loser Syndrome"
Gilles Taillon's efforts to salvage the Action Democratique du Quebec from the ashes of its drubbing in the 2008 Quebec Provincial Election has just become much more difficult.
Eric Caire, Taillon's primary rival for the ADQ leadership, and Marc Picard, the party's former House Leader, have both left the party to sit as independents.
This is only one more merciless blow to a party that has already suffered a continuous stream of defeats. In 2008, they were punted from Official Opposition status with a 34-seat loss.
Mario Dumont -- previously the only leader the party has ever known -- resigned from the leadership quickly after.
On June 22, 2009, the party lost Dumont's seat in the National Assembly to Liberal Jean D'Amour.
The party went on to conduct a long, drawn-out and often vicious leadership campaign in which policies and ideas took a back seat to personal and ad hominem attacks.
Now, fully one third of the parties MNAs have left their caucus.
Caire -- who, after his narrow defeat, stressed the importance of the party supporting Taillon -- complained that Taillon was pulling the party too far away from its conservative principles.
“It is no longer the party I joined,” Caire complained. "That ADQ no longer exists for me."Caire even took the opportunity to lob one more hand grenade Taillon's way before departing from the party. "I think that the future of the ADQ depends on the leader of the [party]," Caire insisted, knowing full well that his departure effectively cripples the party.
He also blamed poor leadership qualities.
"[His is] a reign without teamwork, without having either the qualities or the charisma to do it," Caire added.
When a leadership campaign turns as deeply personal as the ADQ campaign did, it's only natural that the winner and losers will find themselves unwilling and unable to work together.
As Jean Lapierre has noted, the ADQ's failure to have a proper leadership contest has effectively spelled its end.
The ADQ's time has seemingly come. With it, so has the time for a new conservative party in Quebec.
Other bloggers writing about this topic:
Top Can of Contemplation - "Sore Loser Syndrome"
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