Former Conservative candidates were stunned Monday morning to see their names and photos appear on a website calling for the resignation of party leader Eric Duhaime.
“It is a crazy site that is not serious,” said Jacinthe-Eve Arel, who wore the PCQ colors in the last general election in Portneuf.
Ms. Arel’s photo appears on the website duhaimedemissionne.net, which, as the name suggests, calls for the resignation of Éric Duhaime. Along with Marie-Josée Hélie and Jonathan Poulin, she is one of the former candidates that the website proposes to succeed Mr. Duhaime at the head of the PCQ. Also on the list is the polemicist Alexandre Cormier-Denis, who became known last September due to the controversy surrounding his invitation to an immigration consultation in the National Assembly.
The site accuses Éric Duhaime of clinging to the $135,000 salary he receives as leader of the PCQ and of “surrounding himself with the wrong people.”
Although she says she is not “shocked” by the existence of this site, Jacinthe-Eve Arel does not mince her words to denounce it. “It stinks in my face, it’s a disgusting way to do politics. “I find it pathetic,” she complained.
The former candidate in Portneuf also claims to have “no interest” in leading the PCQ, especially since she is now “completely detached from this party,” which now comments on politics in the media.
“I am not an activist. I will not take a pro- or anti-Duhaime stance,” she said in response to a question about whether she had had problems with the conservative leader’s approach.
Formal note
Former Taschenreau candidate Marie-Josée Hélie also had difficulty swallowing her sip of coffee when she got up this morning. “I didn’t know at all, I found out this morning when some people called me. “I have already sent two formal notices!” she explains on the phone.
Ms. Hélie complains that her name and image were fraudulently used to “assign her roles.” [elle] never gave in.”
“If we find out who is behind this site, I will be serious about my intention to take legal action,” she added, also assuring that she has no interest in the chiefdom.
“Not seriously”
Via text message, former Conservative candidate for Beauce-Sud and leading party figure Jonathan Poulin expressed that he “places so much importance.” [à ce site] as the horoscope in [sa] Newspaper”.
“In Beauce we are used to saying openly what we think. “The anonymous stage managers, we need them just as much as we need a tram in Saint-Georges de Beauce!” he added.
Although tensions have been high in the PCQ since the party failed to elect a member to the National Assembly, none of the three ex-candidates seemed to have any idea who might be behind the website.
“We wonder if it is really a conservative activist attacking his leader, a political opponent or a troll hiding behind an anonymous website,” replied Eric Duhaime’s press secretary.
The PCQ national congress will take place in Lévis on November 18th and 19th, and Éric Duhaime will then have to face a confidence vote.