Have you ever seen The blue angelan old German film from the 30s with Marlene Dietrich?
It was often on TV when I was young, and I watched it whenever I came across it.
The tragic story of a college professor who experiences a humiliating decline after becoming infatuated with a promiscuous singer.
Respected and respectable, the man (who has always been a model of virtue) sees his life go into a tailspin and ends up working as a clown in a seedy cabaret.
Well, this classic of German cinema makes me think of what is currently happening with François Legault.
IN HIS HOOP
Don’t worry, I’m not talking about the couple that Mr. Legault forms with Mrs. Brais, who is doing very well, thank you.
But from the fascination that our PM has for federalism.
As the central character of The blue angel, Professor Immanuel Rath, François Legault (a respected and respectable sovereignist who had never shown signs of weakness) fell under the spell of a troubled creature, who did not evolve in his universe and with whom none of his close friends could not have associated it: Canadian federalism.
It happened a few days after the 1995 referendum: Canadian federalism gave him the eye (“I’m the naughty one, the casserole of the season”, as Marlene Dietrich sensually sings in the film) and Mr. Legault has become everything.
It happens…
Even Ulysses had to be tied to the masts of his ship to resist the call of the sirens!
But weakened by the second defeat of the Yes, the former strongman of the PQ decided to leave everything and follow his new sweetheart.
Like the character in the Beau Dommage song, the former Minister of Health under Bernard Landry and of Education under Lucien Bouchard had mist in his glasses and jumped through his hoop.
The problem is that like Lola-Lola in The blue angel, François Legault’s new flame is a perverse creature.
A femme fatale who takes pleasure in humiliating him.
“You want me to grant you my favors? Come to Ottawa and beg me to open my door to you.”
And Mr. Legault to go to Ottawa and beg her to open her door to him.
I just don’t.
“Do you want me to make a place for you in my bed? Crawl to Ottawa and sing under my window.”
And Mr. Legault to crawl to Ottawa and sing under his window.
Always in vain.
The poor PM of Quebec is so under the influence of federalism and is so desperate that he asked the PQ to ask the Bloc to put pressure on his Belle so that she finally deigns to respond to his messages!
At the end of The blue angel, the former teacher who lost everything is reduced to working as a clown in a cabaret. He imitates the rooster crowing in front of his drunken former students while his Lola-Lola cheats on him behind the scenes with a strong man.
Will Mr. Legault fall this low? Or will he pull himself together and realize once and for all that his Beautiful Maple Leaf is fooling him? That she will never grant him her favors? That he’s wasting his time courting her? That she doesn’t care about her songs, her candies and her roses in bud?
As Brel sang:
“This evening, I was waiting for Madeleine
But I threw away my lilacs
I threw them away like every week
Madeleine will not come
This evening, I was waiting for Madeleine
It’s ruined for the cinema
I stay with my “I love you”
Madeleine will not come…”
Mr. Legault, are you not tired of being fooled by a regime that will never lower itself to kissing you?
Don’t you see that all your laudable efforts are in vain and will lead nowhere?
YES, THINGS WORK IN QUEBEC!
The day before yesterday, I asked you to name one thing, just one thing that works in Quebec. Who works.
Who bathes in oil. Who rolls.
Many of you have written to me.
Here are some of your answers.
(That says a lot about what you think about the state of the province!)
Tax collection: we always find new ways to get money from our pockets.
Cycle paths.
Parking in Montreal: five minutes late and presto, we get a ticket!
The widening of deficits.
At SQDC.
Granting subsidies to large businesses.
Union strike threats.
Whining to governments for accommodations.
The whining (ah! A dig at me…).
The orange cone business.
Waiting rooms.
Car thefts.
Dance bars.
The Alouettes.
Private in medicine.
Close performance halls.
Wokism at UQAM.
Hiring civil servants: it’s going to the max!
Dollarama
Tax evasion.
Play the victim.
Leveling down.
Collusion.
Not paying your electricity bills when you’re a native.
Fried potato canteens.
And three optimistic answers:
“The specialized courts for sexual violence set up by the Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette.”
“We have a higher quality of life than the majority of countries on the planet.”
And: “We are still a prosperous, functional and peaceful society, that’s not bad.”
“THERE’S TOO MUCH NOISE!”
A guy who lives right next to a bar or a concert hall and complains about the noise is like an outdoor enthusiast who decides to pitch his tent in a naturist campsite and is scandalized because that everyone is completely naked…
Uh… What are you doing here, bozo?
