Longer election campaign could help Liberals
Aim to give CAQ leader legault more time to make Costly gaffes
The province’s fixed date law was supposed to take the suspense out of elections and level the playing field between the parties.
But as the province girds for an Oct. 1 vote, a lesser understood clause of the law — one that allows wiggle room on the length of the actual campaign — has suddenly become a factor on the big political chessboard.
On Tuesday, Liberal insiders confirmed the party is seriously examining a possible early election launch — it could be as soon as Aug. 23 or the weekend of Aug. 25-26.
Until now, the conventional thinking was that Premier Philippe Couillard would kick off the campaign Wednesday, Aug. 29, which would mean a 33-day campaign.
That theory has never been confirmed and the law, adopted in 2013 by the old government of Pauline Marois, allows more leeway than people think.
Nobody in the party sees the opening as a panacea to what ails the Liberals, but it is an opening they might not be able to resist.
That means while the actual Oct. 1 election date will not change, the campaign could be longer than 33 days — even as long 39 days.
The Liberals have their reason for wanting a longer runway. For one thing, they believe the more Quebecers get a look at their rival François Legault, leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, the less they will feel inclined to vote for him.
A long campaign means more opportunities for Legault — who is leading in the polls — to slip up. He does have a past of making gaffes and policy flip-flops the Liberals want to milk to show he is not ready for prime time.
The Liberals are already playing that card. After a relatively tame summer on the political BBQ circuit, the party launched a blistering new set of CAQ attack ads on social media Tuesday evening.
There are pros and cons to a long campaign. For one thing, it would mean Legault has to face the media more often to answer tricky policy questions.
On the negative side, the Liberals would face the same media perils in a longer campaign where the objective is to win each day, not slip on banana peels.
One Liberal strategist recognized the Liberals benefited in the 2014 campaign by the many pratfalls of PQ Leader Pauline Marois and her star candidate Pierre Karl Péladeau.
But they can’t count on that happening again so a longer campaign is better for the party that is trying to shore up its sagging vote.
A quick survey Tuesday shows many Liberals like the idea of more time to rub a bit of the sheen off the CAQ, which they believe has been riding on Quebecers’ desire for change and little else.
“The more time we have to explain and show the facts and our policies, the better it is for us in the Liberal Party because we have an extraordinary record in the history of Quebec,” Health Minister Gaétan Barrette told reporters on Tuesday. “We have the best team and facing us (in the opposition parties) there is nothing but perpetual confusion. At some point it has to be exposed.”
“The democratic debate in an election does not mean just vote for me, give me a blank cheque,” added Liberal house leader JeanMarc Fournier, who will be a key strategist in the campaign.
“For the moment, he (Legault) has not specified his thoughts and has done little but surf and say I will give you lots of good stuff.”
“In my opinion, the CAQ’s message is not very coherent,” Finance Minister Carlos Leitão said. “We need to be able to get that message across. Will that take 39 days instead of 33 days, fine.”
Some argue a few more days on the election trail won’t make much difference in a province that has been on an election footing for about a year.
Regardless of the launch date, all four main parties say they are ready to rumble.
Legault responded to the speculation with a tweet.
“Elections launched earlier? All the better,” he said. “I am anxious to conduct the campaign with my fabulous team and present our ideas to Quebecers who want to turn the page on 15 years of Liberal government. “Bring it on, Mr. Couillard.” Parti Québécois Leader JeanFrançois Lisée had a similar response saying he would welcome a longer campaign. The PQ is currently third in the polls.
And the parties have already been campaigning — informally — all summer anyway.
Legault has been the most active. After announcing in June he would skip summer holidays, he has spent weeks criss-crossing Quebec, mainly to announce candidates. The CAQ now has 91 of the required 125 candidates named.
Lisée and deputy-leader Véronique Hivon and other PQ MNAs have been touring Quebec, meeting Quebecers at corn roasts and festivals.
The Liberals have been running their own BBQ circuit, with Couillard playing the role of head chef.
Tuesday evening, the hot dog party rolled into Quebec City.
“Listen to me,” Couillard joked standing behind the grill and wearing a bright red apron. “The election is going to be held Oct. 1. I promise.”