Quebec's minority government

[General Gonad]

It looks like we're going to get a minority government in Quebec. The big winner of the night is the ADQ and Mario Dumont who surpassed the most optimistic expectations. The big loser is clearly the PQ who will trail the ADQ, coming in third. Clearly Mr. Boisclair's days are numbered. The other losers are the Liberals who just got slapped in the face. Mr. Charest will lose his seat and if I were a Liberal that won, I wouldn't give him my seat. Ultimately, the biggest winners will be the Quebec population. Minority governments are typically more productive.

GG

 

[joelcairo]

These results indicate that Quebec voters did not like any of their options - which means that Quebec voters at least have some intelligence.

 

[General Gonad]

Je suis en accord avec toi qu'un gouvernement minoritaire est plus productif mais aucun premier ministre, cela n'est pas très convaincant et surtout que l'ADQ est l'opposition officielle...Je crois que nous irons encore en élection très bientôt...

Absolument, je ne vois pas comment ce gourvernement va tenir la route pendant un ans...


GG

 

[Big Daddy Cool]

Charet is a lier and Boeclair is an ex drug addict. Neather one is any good. What I like about this government is that we will truely see where the ADQ stands. The ADQ had a more right wing agenda and if the push the Liberals to adopt some right wing policies, I'll defenitly be supporting them in the next election. Funny thing is that the ADQ were sucessful in ridings that Harper was a big winner in which begs the question if Quebecers are finally waking up to the fact that we are way to left here and that we can no longer aford the costs of a left socity?

 

[joelcairo]

Possibly they're waking up to that BDC but more likely they're waking up to what you wrote in your first 2 sentences! And is "ex" the right term? Just asking, but I know he'll never apologize.

 

[General Gonad]

Charest squeaks through, barely, saving himself from being totally embarrassed. Highlight of the night? CTV Montreal reporter Annie DeMelt:

http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=6870

...is she hot or what?

GG

 

[wilko26]

Absolument, je ne vois pas comment ce gourvernement va tenir la route pendant un ans...


GG

C'est ce que le monde ont dit avec Harper...

 

[Kepler]

Boisclair (sic) est un démagogue populiste sans équipe compétente qui propose des solutions qui ne tiennent pas la route.

Je suis 100% d'accord.


Mais plus sérieusement, Dumont propose une approche qui mérite d'être essayée. On est les plus taxés en Amérique du Nord. L'état est bien trop lourd dans l'économie québécoise. Les structures sont devenues beaucoup trop rigides.

Il est temps d'alléger notre fardeau.

 

[Cosmo]

Je respecte ton opinion mais ne la partage pas.

Boisclair est un démagogue populiste sans équipe compétente qui propose des solutions qui ne tiennent pas la route.

Pour couronner le tout, il représente la droite au Québec.

Je ne m'identifie pas du tout à lui et son parti et je suis déçue de constater que de nombreux Québécois voient en lui une option saine pour notre nation.

Tu veut sans doute dire Dumont.
La droite au Québec,et meme au Canada, est la gauche dans plusieurs pays.
Nous sommes parmis les plus taxés en Amerique du nord,et avons les services sociaux les plus élaborés et dispendieux.
Dumont représente la classe moyenne,qui en a ras-le-bol du status quo des 2 autres partis en ce qui a trait au modele socialiste Quebecois.
Pour ce qui est des solutions, disons que les idées des autres ont fait quelques sorties de routes a travers les ans....

 

[Rexroth]

Ultimately, the biggest winners will be the Quebec population. Minority governments are typically more productive.

More productive in terms of what? Would you mind elaborating? Especially in light of you subsequent comment, viz:

Absolument, je ne vois pas comment ce gouvernement va tenir la route pendant un ans...

What this essentially means is that no major initiatives will be undertaken or advanced in a rational way since decisions will be made either as bribes or as blackmail.

Boisclair (sic) est un démagogue populiste sans équipe compétente qui propose des solutions qui ne tiennent pas la route.

Comme si les autres partis proposaient des solutions qui tennaient la route. Si tel était le cas, on ne serait pas ici ce matin.

 

[Techman]

The PQ are finally where they belong, in third place. It shows that the people of Quebec are no longer intrested in having another referendum. I feel that his insistence on having a referendum, even if in a minority position, is what doomed him to third place. Maybe people are finally waking up.

 

[Rexroth]

les deux autres partis sont certes loin d'être parfaits mais on ne peut nier qu'ils ont fait des bons coups au fil du temps, surtout le PQ.

Hmmm, un petit partie pris ici, n'est-ce pas?

Pour ce qui est des bons coups au fils du temps, je dirais ça fait un très long bout de temps qu'on n'en a pas eus. Ce qui renforce ce que je dis plus haut.

 

[General Gonad]

The PQ are finally where they belong, in third place. It shows that the people of Quebec are no longer intrested in having another referendum. I feel that his insistence on having a referendum, even if in a minority position, is what doomed him to third place. Maybe people are finally waking up.

Good point. Everyone thinks it was because of Boisclair but the truth is the majority of the population do not want to hear the "R" word.

GG

 

[Cosmo]

haha! Je viens de voir mon erreur. Tu parles d'un lapsus.

Bien sûr, je parlais de Dumont!

Je vais corriger ça immédiatement.

Cela dit... Boisclair aussi est un démagogue mais quel politicien ne l'est pas?

Cosmo, pourtant, nos services sociaux sont loin d'être suffisants.

Je suis d'accord qu'il faut alléger l'état mais pas au détriment des plus démunis.

Rexroth, les deux autres partis sont certes loin d'être parfaits mais on ne peut nier qu'ils ont fait des bons coups au fil du temps, surtout le PQ.

Elizabeth,
Le travailleur moyen est le plus étouffé en amérique du nord.

Nos services sociaux sont loin d'etre suffisant parce qu'en autres il y a de l'abus et que cet abus reste impunis par le status quo des 2 autres partis,qui outre l'option souverainiste se ressemblent beaucoup.

 

[Rexroth]

The PQ are finally where they belong, in third place. It shows that the people of Quebec are no longer intrested in having another referendum. I feel that his insistence on having a referendum, even if in a minority position, is what doomed him to third place. Maybe people are finally waking up.

While I won't entirely disagree with you, I am not sure that the referendum issue is the whole story. My sense is that one of the major reasons why the PQ slipped into third place is that it couldn't hold on to the "progressive" elements of its consitutuency (greens and lefties), who turned to the Green Party and Quebec Solidaire (together, these two parties took 8% of the popular vote). Let,s not forget that the PQ regained its seats in the Saguenay Lac St Jean region, notwithstanding the sometimes crude and vulgar attacks on Boisclair. And let's not forget that with the existence of the Bloc Quebecois in Ottawa, there is less incentive to vote for a provincial party dedicated to defending Quebec's interests.

 

[Rexroth]

...since Quebec's interests are best served (in my opinion and that of a majority of Quebecers) as part of the Canadian federation, the seperatists, including the BQ cannot legitimately claim to be defending these interests.

It would be more appropriate to say "convincingly" rather than "legitimately." The nuance is important, and not just a case of splitting. To the extent that the PQ genuinely believes that it is in the best interests of Quebec to be independent, then its claim its legitimate. That they have a hard time convincing the electorate is another matter altogether.

In any event, with regard to the election results, this is a bit of a side issue, inasmuch as the big-time loser was the Liberal Party, Charest in particular. His vision (read- lack thereof) and inability to adequately manage major (or even minor) issues led to the slap in the face he received last night.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Questions From Down South!

What does all of this mean for we Americans & tourists who had no vote in the outcome of this matter? Can I safely assume that I will see no visible changes in anything when I continue to come to Montreal for my long weekend trips?

Does the PQ finishing 3rd mean that the talk of separatism and a new referendum is now going to stop? Can us folks down south rely on a stable Quebec government that is not going to secede from the union of provinces that is Canada?

 

[Rexroth]

What does all of this mean for we Americans & tourists who had no vote in the outcome of this matter?

Absolutely nothing

Can I safely assume that I will see no visible changes in anything when I continue to come to Montreal for my long weekend trips?

Infrastructures will no doubt deteriorate because no decisions will be made (in the short term at least). But this would have happened anyway.

Does the PQ finishing 3rd mean that the talk of separatism and a new referendum is now going to stop?

Not at all.

Can us folks down south rely on a stable Quebec government that is not going to secede from the union of provinces that is Canada?

Is this one question or two? It is unclear (to this tout anyway) that the stability of the Quebec government has anything to do with whether or not Quebec remains in Canada.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Rexroth,

Sorry, that was indeed a compound question that probably should have been broken in two. Occasionally when I write posts on this board my grammar does break down as I have a tendency to write run on sentences that say or express more than one thought at a time which is the sign of a rambling mind at work, or maybe laziness in editing, but in any event bad sentences much like bad questions and bad pitching performances do happen, and when they do you just have to move on and hope that the next time you get it right, and if not then you move on to the time after that.

 

[sinbad]

What does all of this mean for we Americans & tourists who had no vote in the outcome of this matter? Can I safely assume that I will see no visible changes in anything when I continue to come to Montreal for my long weekend trips?

Does the PQ finishing 3rd mean that the talk of separatism and a new referendum is now going to stop? Can us folks down south rely on a stable Quebec government that is not going to secede from the union of provinces that is Canada?

Hi EB:

In the Canadian system, minority goverments are inherently unstable, and usually only last a year or two. Basically, nothing much will change in the next couple of years (especially as it affects visitors to Quebec). What's interesting is that the popular vote yesterday was split almost evenly among the 3 parties, Liberals (federalist), Parti Quebecois (separatist), Action Democratique (federalist - sort of). This means that 2/3 of voters cast their ballots for parties claiming not to be in favour of Quebec separation. It will take some time to sort out whether this is a real re-alignment of politics in Quebec, or a one time blip.

sinbad