Great Moments in Spin
Mr. Boisclair said he plans to lead the party into the next election, but admitted he had misread the electorate during the campaign.
Another referendum on sovereignty “was not, apparently, a priority,” he told the media.
However, he said the overall voting trends supported the PQ's position within Quebec. Two-thirds of seats were given to people who do not accept the status quo, he said.
Couldn't the Green Party claim victory on those same grounds?
Labels: Andre Boisclair, Quebec election
posted by calgarygrit at
7:31 p.m.
7 Comments:
I'd tend to agree with Boisclair. There are about 30% hardcore sovereignists, 30% hardcore federalists, and 40% somewhere in the middle. The middle ground has not been represented ever since the Bourassa days, and since then they'd been forced to be either on the sovereignist or the federalist side.
I've claimed for a few years now that the Québec issue cannot be resolved by a total, frank separation of Québec, but that the status quo would keep the problem around forever. The only way to solve the problem is with a compromize of some sort, something that would favor the tweeners as well as a few federalist and sovereignists. Now, that's what Dumont offers; I'm not sure he's doing it well, I'm not sure he'll do what's best, but he has the right idea.
In that respect, I think that Boisclair is right - it's been clear for years now that Québecers don't want complete separation from Canada, but it's also bvery clear that federalism the way it's currently done cannot prevail either. That said, I don't think he claimed victory, but rather tried to find the positive in the election - just like Harper claimed it was a victory for him that two thirds of Québecers rejected the idea of a referendum. Both are true, it might be spinning it the way you want to see it, but it's not erroneous, half-true nor misleading.
Also, on these grounds, I don't think that the Green Party can claim victory since it has no constitutional points in its platform. I just double-checked to make sure. Québec Solidaire could, but they do have 9 or 10 times less votes than the PQ.
By
jeagag, at 8:00 p.m.
Couldn't the Green Party claim victory on those same grounds?
Nahhh, they'd never spin:
Vive le Québec vert! Greens make big gains in provincial election
Yet another sign that voters are hungry for real change...
Ottawa (27 March 2007) – Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May said today that the provincial election in Quebec, in which the ADQ made a major breakthrough and the Greens had their best-ever result, is yet another sign that voters are hungry for real change.
“The result in Quebec provides further evidence that Canadians from all regions and backgrounds are tired of the same old parties offering the same old choices,” said Ms. May. “Voters are now prepared to listen to new voices with new ideas, and they are liking what they hear.”
...
The Green Party of Quebec took 3.9% of the popular vote, a near nine-fold increase on its 0.44% in the 2003 election...
And many thought it was the ADQ who were the big winners with a near nine-fold increase in seats! :)
By
The Anonymous Green, at 8:52 p.m.
It's a consensus at this point that Boisclair was a bad leader for the PQ. But why was he chosen in the first place? It would seem that Pauline Marois would have had more influence in the party drawing on her time with it...but she lost by more than 20%. I wasn't paying close attention to politics at the time so I'm just curious how that happened.
Also, who's available to replace Boisclair if Duceppe declines?
By
Stranded_Youngster, at 11:51 p.m.
Also, who's available to replace Boisclair if Duceppe declines?
I don't think he would. But, otherwise.... Landry could be tempted to come back. François Legault would certainly be a favourite. Diane Lemieux could be tempted, but I wouldn't want her to win. Richard Legendre was supposed to be a good candidate, but he did really bad last time around. Sylvain Simard is one of the most respected PQ members, but if people thought André Boisclair was too intellectual and stuck up, they are going to hate Simard. Some predict Bernard Drainville to be an eventual candidate, but he has a long way to go and he won't jump anytime soon. Pierre Curzi is another star candidate, fresh out of the presidency of the Union des Artistes. He is well-liked by the population. I'm probably forgetting some, though.
If Duceppe doesn't go, my money is on Legault. I think this man is just waiting for an easy race, he doesn't want to be branded as a loser like Marois or Brison. He's still young, and if Duceppe jumps, he'll be wise enough to pass his turn.
I like André Boisclair, and out of the three leaders of main political parties in Québec, I'd say that he's the one I'd rather have as a premier today, and it's not remotely close. He's not the strongest politician, and the circumstances really didn't favour him. He has not been a great PQ leader, but then again, he hasn't been around for long. His brand value might not be very high right now, but he seems like an individual who's capable of learning from his mistakes and become a stronger individual from it. I mean, at the start of the campaign, the consensus was that Boisclair would bread down somewhere along the way and get killed by the Liberals. At the end of the campaign, most people seemed pleasantly surprised with the way Boisclair handled the campaign, that Boisclair was finally starting to learn how to work a campaign. That's pretty good for a guy in his first campaign as leader of a political party, especially with Super Mario (4th election as leader) blazing through and Charest, who was by the general opinion much weaker than Boisclair despite supposedly being a formidable campaigner in his what, 4th or 5th campaign as a party leader.
I'm convinced that Gilles Duceppe is the best man to lead the PQ, but right behind him is André Boisclair. He wasn't ready when he was elected, but he seems to be learning fast, and I think it's very possible that if he stays, he'll be a very strong candidate next time around.
By
jeagag, at 12:46 a.m.
Hang on a minute. I looked at the voting numbers. The PQ’s share of the vote isn’t that bad. They were down just 5% points. That was the Green Party’s gain. This is not unexpected as separation continues to lose its luster.
Boisclair’s failure is that he didn’t capitalize on Charest’s weakness. At 28% of the vote, the PQ still remains a viable force because it still has a large core group of supporters. In fact, only 5% points separate the PQ from the Liberals. And, only 2.5% points from Dumont.
It was Dumont and his motley crew that won the 12% of the votes that Charest lost. The PQ has got to re-examine the social and economic agenda in their platform.
That said, Keith Boag of the CBC says that harper isn’t calling an election(?). Can you believe it? This is the guy who claims that he won a battle for the federalists.
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JimTan, at 2:08 a.m.
I smell the end of an era. The PQ were a reaction to a Liberal view of confederation that is high on ideals and low on practicality - in short, it has failed miserably. Harper's views on decentralization are not only appealing to Quebec (don't kid yourself if you don't think that is where the ADQ triumphed) but to the likes of Alberta, BC and dare I say it Daltontario. Even better, it is a movement that has succeeded despite the best efforts of the establishment - which especially includes the mainstream media. Democracy is alive, ALIVE I TELL YOU!!!!!
By
fair sailing, at 8:17 a.m.
Right now, my money is on Fair Sailing. Time will tell.
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 4:28 p.m.
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