Been a busy day on the campaign front: the CAQ’s official agent quit after hints he might be accused in a corruption scandal but the party rebounded in the afternoon with news that anti-corruption crusader Jacques Duchesneau is getting on the bandwagon, Le Devoir saying he’ll be running in St-Jérôme.
Jean Charest evoked the fear of a referendum to try to shoo anglo voters away from voting PQ or QS.
Pauline Marois sidestepped the obstacle of an English debate saying she doesn’t speak the langue de Shakespeare well enough.
Gilles Duceppe suddenly attacked Amir Khadir, calling him a populist and an opportunist and not truly devoted to the separatist cause. Pauline Marois would neither condemn nor endorse Duceppe’s statement. Khadir, who’s a medical doctor, has been going around rescuing people (including the protester injured by a motorist during a recent demo).
Québec Solidaire and Option Nationale are not happy at being excluded from the TVA debate.
Adam 22:39 on 2012/08/03 Permalink
“Khadir, who’s a medical doctor, has been going around rescuing people (including the protester injured by a motorist during a recent demo).”
Presumably, no one would ever think that it would be a good idea for Amir Khadir to go around purporting to give medical treatment to people if he had no medical training and was totally ignorant in the field of healing. But for whatever reason, some people think it would be an excellent idea for Amir Khadir to craft economic policy despite the fact that he is totally economically illiterate and has no training whatsoever in the field. Don’t get me wrong, Charest and Marois and the rest of them don’t know what they’re doing economically speaking either. But Khadir is in a class of his own. His understanding of economics is on par with a witch doctor’s understanding of medicine. He can only do harm – great harm.
ant6n 06:34 on 2012/08/04 Permalink
How can they “harm”, by magically getting a majority government? The dubious claims you make aside, having a few left-wing representatives in the assembly is not going to be the end of the world. I am much more afraid of the right-wingers, who have many more ways into power, are higher in the polls, and who want to roll back the social democracy in Quebec.
Ian 08:36 on 2012/08/04 Permalink
Gilles who? And yeah, the entire point of the QS is to have a leftist voice in provincial parliament. Nobody thinks they’re going to get a majority so stop the fear-mongering already. Ultimately I think the best situation would be a minority government – Charest’s overstayed his welcome but Marois is a creep too, I don’t want either of them to have too much power.
qatzelok 08:50 on 2012/08/04 Permalink
@ Adam: “But for whatever reason, some people think it would be an excellent idea for Amir Khadir to craft economic policy despite the fact that he is totally economically illiterate and has no training whatsoever in the field.”
He wouldn’t know a brown envelope if Goldman Sachs handed one to him?
Kate 09:55 on 2012/08/04 Permalink
Adam, you’re such a card.
I’m of Ian’s way of thinking here. Best we can do is a minority government. Then no specific ideology gets to dominate. Adam will be pleased to know that it’s more likely the CAQ will have the balance of power than Québec Solidaire: QS will increase its popular vote, but only in the Montreal area and mostly not concentrated enough to gain seats, whereas the CAQ may collect its ADQ seats back off-island.
The neoliberal view that currently dominates will not last forever, Adam. People are clearly finished with the old promise that wealth trickles down, now that we see what actually happens: wealth trickles offshore into tax havens and builds nothing and helps nobody. That is not a situation that’s tenable for long, and it will have to reverse. You know it and I know it. The only difference is it gives you the cold chills.
jeather 11:30 on 2012/08/04 Permalink
I guess the PLQ has decided that they won’t even pretend to care about the anglophone vote. (I’m not convinced that the CAQ is pretending particularly well, either, sadly. And even my choice of MNA isn’t great — googling him results mostly in a bunch of poker links. I don’t care that he plays poker, just that, in the run up to an election, he seems to do nothing else. I suppose I will decide as it gets closer to election time.)
The best result — given our actual options of parties and leaders, not an ideal selection — would be a very weak minority government where the balance of power is leftist.
Ian 12:50 on 2012/08/04 Permalink
The PLQ never does anything to curry the Anglo vote as they assume they have it anyway & they don’t want to alienate the more fickle francophone vote. Judging by the political illiteracy of the West Island Anglos I work with, they’re probably right.
jeather 13:25 on 2012/08/04 Permalink
Uh, I meant PQ. Shit.
The PLQ doesn’t curry anglos — as you say, they’ve got them mostly sewn up — but they don’t actively try to turn them off voting for them, like the PQ. CAQ appears to be undecided on what they want to do about anglos, whether to ignore them like the PLQ or to turn them away like the PQ.
qatzelok 20:11 on 2012/08/05 Permalink
@ Ian: “the more fickle francophone vote”
You mean francophones vote for different parties each election, and not just for the most anglo-friendly one each time? There’s another word for this kind of fickleness: it’s called “voting for the best candidate.” I realize that cults only follow their leaders.
Ian 13:26 on 2012/08/06 Permalink
No, my dear qatzelok, that’s not what I mean, but your inability to grasp nuance is consistent if nothing else. I mean that as all the provincial parties know that most anglos will vote for the PLQ, none of them (including the PLQ) try to appeal to anglos.