In 2017, Québec solidaire delegates brutally rejected any form of rapprochement with the Parti Québécois. Some even went so far as to label the PQ “neoliberals” and “racists.” A very bad variety show.
However, the reality was very simple. The solidarity parties, which saw themselves as the only alternative to Philippe Couillard’s Liberals, had judged above all that an alliance with the PQ – an “old” party in decline – would run counter to their partisan interests.
However, in the 2018 election, the CAQ’s victory stripped them of the title of alternative to the Liberals. This year, however, QS made the same analysis error.
Under its leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, QS presented itself as the only alternative to François Legault’s CAQ and the only party deserving of official opposition status. We know the rest…
With 11 MPs and 15.43% of the vote, QS is even trapped with the PQ. Which, with its 3 deputies and 14.61% of the votes, is not entitled to the valuable status of a recognized faction in the National Assembly.
Unless, of course, the official liberal opposition agrees. Which, unlike 2018, is far from over. This links the parliamentary fate of the two enemy brothers once again.
Inevitable question
The irony is cruel. A crucial question will therefore inevitably arise.
Despite the heavy mutual resentment stemming from QS’s refusal to approach the PQ, will the two parties one day be lured into a new reflection on the issue? Very clever the fortune tellers. Nevertheless, what we can say about it is this.
With the CAQ victory massive and the opposition split like never before into four similarly strong parties in terms of votes collected, the idea of a QS-PQ alliance might seem less far-fetched over time.
Also remember that the defunct PQ-QS Convergence Project was not intended to bring the two parties together. Rather, he proposed a strategic alliance in the form of an electoral pact.
In certain target districts, this pact would have allowed them to present a single candidate from either party. Aim: to try to block the path to the local candidate of the PLQ or the CAQ. Which never happened.
Hooked Atoms
However, it is true that Solidarność and PQ voters are not automatically communicating vessels. PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s surprise win at Camille-Laurin against the outgoing CAQ MP does, however, require food for thought.
Favored by the candidate’s forced withdrawal from QS, the election of the PSPP suggests that a voluntary alliance might be more promising than the status quo.
The PQ now reduced to 3 seats, if talks with QS resume one day – big ‘if’ – they would have to find a new alliance formula.
On several issues, including health and the environment, we also note that the snags between PSPP and GND are much more numerous than in 2017 under PQ leader Jean-François Lisée and the painful memory of the Charter of Values.
So who knows? If only in the name of the principle of reality and clarity, will Solidarność and the PQ eventually be doomed to come to an agreement?
