Antoine Dionne Charest is not afraid of debate, even as he sits comfortably in his leather armchair, surrounded by books scattered in the four corners of his apartment, giving the image of someone who prefers to think rather than talk.
Posted at 5:00 am.
For the Charests, oratorical jousting is a family trait. A few years ago, Jean Charest and his partner Michèle Dionne led the debates of their three children, the eldest Amélie, Antoine, the youngest, and finally Alexandra, the youngest.
It taught us something very simple, but which should be self-evident: respect. It's really important for people you disagree with.
Antoine Dionne Charest
Despite everything, in recent months he has not hesitated to respond to the independence sociologist Mathieu Bock-Côté. On the social network He also wrote that the star columnist of the Journal de Montréal made “disgusting” comments about the demographic decline of French-speaking Quebecers, given Canada and its immigration restrictions.
Looking for compromises
For Mr. Dionne Charest, respect for his opponents means responding to their criticism with the same passion. He also wants to understand them, which is why his libraries are full of different points of view, from the classics of philosophy to the latest essay by the humorist Guy Nantel, who wanted to become leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ). .
“Antoine is someone who tries to find compromises, but at the same time that does not mean listening to his convictions,” analyzes Salim Idrissi, public affairs strategist and former political advisor to the Charest and Couillard governments.
A close friend of Antoine Dionne Charest, who was his best man at his wedding, he sees him as a “talkative” person in debates. A former activist who worked with him on the youth commission of the Quebec Liberal Party and who would rather not appear in the party's current debates also describes him as a sincere person who never calculates, but who sometimes feels stuck between a tree and a tree the bark when the issue becomes divisive.
“We are sovereign in Quebec”
Antoine Dionne Charest is immersed in the hot news and claims not to belong to any ideological group. “I am a liberal,” he explains, in the sense that he believes in the primacy of the rights and freedoms of the individual and is convinced that his stance is compatible with the defense of the nation of Quebec.
There are authoritarian tendencies [Coalition avenir Québec]or clearly paternalistic. Basically, we are told what to do, what to think, how to behave in matters of language and morality.
Antoine Dionne Charest
According to him, the independence project of the Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire is not necessary because Quebec is “already sovereign” in areas “fundamental to the existence of the Quebec people”, such as education and health.
In order to reconnect with the electorate, the young philosopher dreams that his party will push forward the project of a “national project” to improve the quality of the French language taught, spoken and written, although the mood among the population is less positive these days Québec seems to be in favor of liberal ideals.
Is the past a guarantee for the future?
With the Coalition Avenir Québec coming to power in 2018 and its autonomous stance within Canada, the Liberals lost the contentious issue that distinguished them on the political stage: the defense of federalism. This first victory of the “Third Way” is not inevitable, Mr. Dionne Charest firmly believes.
In 2002, while leader of the official opposition in Quebec, Jean Charest canceled his summer vacation while three of four by-elections in which the Liberals usually won had been won by Mario Dumont, of the Quebec Democratic Action. Michèle Dionne, Mr. Charest's partner, then told her husband that he had not made “all these sacrifices to remain in the opposition,” Antoine Dionne Charest recalled to La Presse last spring.
In 2003, Jean Charest won his bet and became prime minister. Twenty years later, his son wants to believe that there is no inevitability in politics.
“If we have ambitions, if we have convictions and ideas that we want to advance, work, discipline, we cannot escape it. Anyone who wants to go into politics must be motivated by these things,” concludes Antoine Dionne Charest.