Launched in the middle of crossing the desert and framed by new rules, the race for the leadership of the PLQ could well be won by “the best 2e “. One thing is certain, the next leader of the oldest political party in Quebec will be a man, since no candidate is on the starting line, a deplorable situation in the eyes of several observers.
Published at 5:00 a.m.
A party that is looking for itself
It goes without saying that the PLQ is going through a dark period in its history after suffering a historic defeat during the last general elections where it only won 21 seats and 14.4% of the vote. Then at its head, Dominique Anglade resigned five weeks later, undermined by the challenge to his leadership which grew day after day. Since then, under the interim leadership of MP Marc Tanguay, the political party has put in place a series of measures, including a committee on its revival which, among other things, gave rise to the idea of adopting a Quebec Constitution. However, these initiatives seem to have had a mixed impact on the electorate. The Qc125 site, which compiles polls for electoral projection purposes, awarded a harvest of 31 seats to the PLQ at the end of December, far behind the Parti Québécois which would form a majority government. It remains to be seen whether the election of its new leader will allow the PLQ to regain the hearts of the electorate, and particularly of the French-speakers who have shunned it for several years.
The rules of the game, the unpredictable factor
This is the unpredictable factor of this campaign. Rather than persisting with its traditional delegate system, as when Philippe Couillard won the last leadership race, the PLQ opted for a so-called “preferential” vote based on universal suffrage. Members will thus be asked to choose the candidates in order of preference. If none of them are first choice of more than 50% of voters, a second The turn is between the two candidates best placed in this regard. The party authorities will then turn to the second choice of activists. The next leader of the PLQ could thus be “the best second », underlines Salim Idrissi. “Let’s say that Mr. choice, well Mr. Y could go ahead and win the chiefdom,” he explains. A more consensual candidate, who will not have made enemies among the other candidates, is thus at an advantage, according to him. The importance given to the vote of those aged 25 and under should not be neglected since they hold a third of the votes in each constituency. Knowing that each constituency yields the same number of points, the vote of a few young people in certain regions could thus have a decisive weight.
Absence of women, the Rizqy factor
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Marwah Rizqy
The elephant in the room: the PLQ leadership race has no female candidates at the starting line. A state of affairs deplored by many, given that the political party had broken the glass ceiling with Dominique Anglade. It’s not for lack of trying, however. Several women had been contacted, notably the former CEO of Hydro-Québec Sophie Brochu. “But we have to be careful with this kind of approach because even if the objective is virtuous, we must not have a woman as a candidate for it to be an figuration, just to check the box,” believes Salim Idrissi. Another woman who some had hoped to see run, MP Marwah Rizqy, also withdrew for good, announcing that she would not run in the next election. Elected parliamentarian of the year in 2024, for the second time, she has an influence over the party which should not be neglected. However, she has still not offered her support to a candidate, which would be widely followed. She was one of the few, going against the grain, to line up behind Alexandre Cusson, the only opponent of Dominique Anglade during the last race for the leadership of the party. An exercise aborted by his withdrawal.
