MONTREAL – Jean Charest and Francois Legault clashed in a live TV debate on Tuesday night, with the Liberal leader portraying himself as the best politician to lead Quebec in stormy economic times.
“Quebecers have more money in their pockets than nine years ago,” Charest told his rival from the Coalition for Quebec’s Future.
“I want to create 250,000 jobs to have full employment.”
Legault fired back that many of the jobs the Liberals have created are low-paying and do not help the province.
“When you came to power in 2003, Quebec was in fourth place (among provinces) in terms of disposable income,” he said. “Now, there’s just Prince Edward Island that is poorer than us.”
Earlier, the two men kicked off the debate by defending the ethics of their respective parties.
Legault immediately attacked Charest for being too lenient with Tony Tomassi, a Liberal cabinet minister who was responsible for the province’s daycare program.
Tomassi was forced to quit politics and now faces criminal charges over his use of a credit card supplied by a company that received government business.
Charest retorted that he acted quickly once he found out about Tomassi’s activities.
The Liberal leader then challenged Legault to defend Jacques Duchesneau, a Coalition candidate who, according to Radio-Canada, received anonymous financial donations when he was a municipal politician in Montreal in 1998.
That didn’t stop Legault from hammering away at the Liberals’ ethics record over the years.
“We’ve lost the confidence of Quebecers,” he said. “And even on the international level, it’s embarrassing what Mr. Charest has done.”
The Liberal leader shot back that Quebec’s international reputation is intact.
“Internationally, don’t worry about Quebec’s reputation, Mr. Legault. I know the international scene. Our reputation is intact.”
The two men then clashed over the health system, with Legault reiterating his promise to give every Quebecer a family doctor.
“It’s incredible how you’ve treated elderly people over the last nine years,” Legault said. “I would be embarrassed in your shoes.”
The showdown between the two men came two weeks left before Quebecers go to the polls Sept. 4.
Charest debated Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois on Monday night, while Marois and Legault – former PQ cabinet colleagues – will clash Wednesday night.
The only debate featuring all the main party leaders on the same stage occurred Sunday night.
The debates are considered a key test for Legault, who has much less experience than his political rivals when it comes to the cut and thrust of political exchanges on live TV.
The former PQ cabinet minister is a pivotal player in the three-way race that has emerged.
His level of support will likely be decisive in many riding battles, with his party in a position to play the role of spoiler even in areas where it’s not likely to win.
The fear of vote-splitting is intense enough on the federalist side that a long-time Liberal organizer in Quebec City is urging party supporters, through different media interviews, to rally behind the Coalition for this one election.
The Coalition is targeting an anglophone electorate that historically votes massively for the Liberals.
Ever since calling the election at the beginning of the month, Charest has hammered away at Legault’s political past in which he was a boisterous supporter of Quebec independence.
In a desperate bid to hold on to the federalist vote in the province, Charest’s mantra regarding Legault during the campaign has been to portray him as a sovereigntist who for years and years wanted a sovereignty referendum.
Legault left the PQ to create his new party, which has no official position on the independence question and promises not to discuss the issue that has dominated Quebec politics since the late 1960s.
Legault says he will not hold a sovereignty referendum for 10 years and that he would even vote No if a referendum were held right now.
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