According to political scientist Marc-André Leclerc, the hypotheses regarding the sectoral agreements concluded in principle in recent days would be welcomed by Prime Minister François Legault.
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In an interview with LCN, Mr Leclerc argues that the prime minister needs to show that his teams are capable of moving forward with negotiations, which had been at a standstill for several months before discussions intensified in recent days.
“There has been progress, there has been progress and that was important for Mr. Legault and his team to show that they are capable of reaching an agreement with the unions,” he said. For Mr. Legault, it's a sigh of relief, even if it still remains that way [que] People around turkeys and pies talk about strikes because they affect everyone.”
The political analyst believes the CAQ has failed to understand the level of support the public could have for teachers in particular.
“It is certain that since the fall, very early in August and September, we saw that there was a war of public opinion,” he explains. But I clearly believe that the government has underestimated public opinion [favorable aux grévistes] People could have this, even parents, who have been affected by the FAE’s indefinite general strike since November 23rd.”
“Mr Legault is very discreet at the moment,” he continues. We haven't seen him do end-of-year interviews like Justin Trudeau or Pierre Poilievre. We saw that his last statements were less well received. But for the young people we have to save the return in January and we can say that what has happened in the last few days is very encouraging.”
A difficult year for Legault
According to Marc-André Leclerc, 2023 has not been an easy year for the prime minister, who wants to quickly put public sector negotiations behind him in order to get back in the polls.
“He is facing a political storm on all fronts,” he said. We've seen it all over the world. In all the companies that are currently affected by inflation, the politicians are doing badly, but Mr. Legault, that was the third link, the tram, the subsidies for the kings, the 30% more for the deputies. When you add it all up, you have to expect headwinds.”
“He will take [le temps de Fêtes] He added that he would like to rest and come back in January to be able to dictate the agenda. What's been difficult over the last few months is that he's been pushed left and right, bad decisions have been made and we feel like he's not in control and his opponents are taking advantage of that. He has to show that he too has a social project. He hasn’t been able to do that in the last few weeks.”
The Prime Minister must ensure that his group remains behind him in the coming months.
“We saw dissatisfaction in April when [son caucus] I didn't feel consulted on the third level, and in politics there is a natural effect that ensures that the circle of trust around the party leader gets smaller every day when things go badly. Day after day, he claims. That will be Mr Legault's job, to ensure that with a large group of 89 MEPs we have to ensure that everyone is happy.”
“We saw how difficult it was for Mr. Legault on all fronts this fall,” he added. He would like to open a new chapter in the negotiations. At some point you want to come clean in politics and start a little bit from scratch.”
Watch Marc-André Leclerc's full analysis in the video above