Liberal leader Dominique Anglade, who wants to go on the attack, has yet to repair pots broken by her candidates. One said he was for Éric Duhaime’s 3rd affiliate in Quebec and another retired into riding Mégantic.
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“We play on the offensive,” said the cook on Wednesday morning.
However, the fourth day of Dominique Anglade’s campaign began just as it ended yesterday… with pitfalls.
She first had to defend the position on the 3rd link of her candidate Sylvain Lemieux in Côte-du-Sud. The latter told our parliamentary office that he “could not oppose” the Quebec Conservative Party’s proposed bridge and highway project on Île d’Orléans. “Maybe it’s more ecological to build a bridge than to demolish a lot of apartments [pour un tunnel]. And I also look at the costs. At the height of the Île d’Orléans there are Hydro-Québec sleepers,” he said, questioning the relevance of the tramway in Quebec.
Ms Anglade believes her candidate still has a place in her education.
“It’s certainly not me who’s going to muzzle candidates,” she said on the sidelines of the day’s announcement of the free special education programs.
“On the other hand, we all agree we need studies before we explain how we want to see a third link.”
However, last January, Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade announced that she was definitely turning her back on the Third Link project.
Then, last week, it opened the door to an underriver tunnel for its streetcar project between Quebec and Lévis, while calling the 3rd CAQ link a multi-billion dollar “hole in the river.”
“Our plan is clear, an east-west tram and a north-south tram going all the way to Lévis,” she said, assuring that she was not at odds with her candidates and the liberal militants of Quebec’s south coast.
Disclaimers
Then another candidate, this time in Mégantic, withdrew. “Again, there are a lot of personal reasons … Politics is an extreme sport,” she said. Ratiba Fares would have given up for professional reasons.
Since Sunday, the absence of a candidate in several constituencies has marred Ms Anglade’s campaign.
“Listen, in the applications we have 125 candidates. There were specific cases where there were specific people for personal reasons [qui ont] make a cross [sur la campagne]’ she repeated on Wednesday morning.
There are currently 109 candidates in the Liberal ranks.
The liberal organization, which has long been regarded as one of the best oiled, appears to be having trouble getting started. Former elected officials and organizers of the formation claimed that the party had long neglected militant organization.
“When I became leader of our political party, I didn’t think it would be easy. We had to renew and advance a lot. But I’m very proud of the team we have today,” she said. “There will always be goals to be achieved.”
On Monday, two people (Vanier Les-Rivières and Richmond) withdrew their candidatures and Ms Anglade had to part ways with her research director, Julie White, to allow her to take on the role of candidate in the Jean-Talon district.
The Liberals also have problems with their candidate in Vachon and Charlesbourg.
Embarrassing Candidates
Ms Anglade has no regrets starting her campaign in Quebec without representing all her candidates where she finds herself at 6% in the polls. She assures that there is no consistency issue at the heart of her training.
However, since the beginning of the election marathon, the leader has had to constantly react and defend candidates who make astonishing statements that run counter to her vision.
On Sunday, Acadie candidate André A. Morin said the decline of French was not a concern because Quebec had enough measures in place to ensure its survival.
On Monday, Jean-Lesage’s candidate, Charles Robert, said the language spoken at home was “not a good indicator” of French’s decline.
On Tuesday, his Côte-du-Sud candidate said he wanted a third connection on Île d’Orléans.
“The message is very clear in terms of the French language, in terms of the tram,” she reiterated, not fearing that the problems her party has experienced since the beginning of the election campaign will stick to her skin.