Shocked by the party’s decline in voting intentions, CAQ MPs are also stunned by the emotional behavior of their leader François Legault, whom some of them perceive as a “clueless leader”.
• Also read: Bulletins of the Week in the National Assembly: Eric Girard sinks the CAQ with the Kings
“He shook us all day after the defeat in Jean-Talon. There is a real disorientation, which is worrying.”
This sentence from an elected official who requested anonymity sums up well the state of daze in which members of the CAQ family find themselves as they watch their leader in recent months.
In conversations with various sources, there is a common denominator: since the abandonment of the promise of a third road connection between Quebec and Lévis, everything has collapsed.
For the citizens of the state capital it was a betrayal, but in other regions that are theoretically not affected, it is a symbol of a loss of trust.
“Something has happened that is difficult to understand even from within. We look at each other and say to ourselves: When will someone in the government really explain to us what happened?” confides another MP, describing a feeling of incomprehension in the group towards their own government.
This elected official outside Quebec believes the fundamental commitment was broken for a reason “out of nowhere” and that a feeling has since spread that the CAQ thinks people are “suitcases.”
And the kings
Then there was the dismantling of Jean-Talon, François Legault’s surprising decision to revive the third tier, then the subsidy for the Los Angeles Kings to host two friendly matches in Quebec.
An “untenable” decision, says one member of the group, while another points out that not only is he against it, “but we are paying $7 million to get lost in the polls.”
Two MPs, Eric Girard and Luc Provençal, publicly reiterated on Wednesday that this subsidy does not correspond to their values.
On the other hand, this open protest died down the next day.
At the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, a core group argued that François Legault should signal the end of the break at the evening caucus.
According to our information, the leader then insisted to his deputies. Criticism must be formulated internally in order not to create a “climate of mistrust” and an “impression of disorder,” which is particularly damaging in the context of power struggles with public sector union members.
François Legault was well aware of this subsidy, but had no suspicions.
“We misjudged the population’s anger; citizens are nervous,” we explain.
There were other examples of disconnection from the real world.
The 30 per cent pay rise MPs voted for has left its mark, while the CAQ hoped the controversy would dissipate after returning from summer holidays.
No rework
A short-term ministerial reshuffle would be a bad idea because it would be another gesture that would betray a state of panic, and the bad example came from François Legault himself.
The coach cannot simply rearrange his trios if he has made decisions that are detrimental to the entire team.
We in government are aware that despite expectations of a decline in poll numbers, particularly due to the impact of inflation, the current drop represents a “rude awakening” after years of leadership.
François Legault must pull himself together and govern with clear objectives, without ignoring opinion polls.
