MONTREAL – The Liberals are holding their leadership convention this weekend, the first since 1998, when Jean Charest won by acclamation. Close to three thousand delegates will gather in Montreal for the event. Philippe Couillard is seen as the front-runner, but his adversaries aren’t giving up just yet.
In a way, the race is only now beginning. The three candidates vying to replace Jean Charest as Liberal leader are stepping up efforts to sway delegates. They’ll wine and dine them this weekend, hoping to win them over. Although Philippe Couillard is seen as the front-runner, leadership hopeful Pierre Moreau believes everything is still possible.
“Politics is all about people and you have to care about what people are thinking,” Moreau acknowledged.
Raymond Bachand has repeatedly highlighted the fact that Couillard has links with Dr. Arthur Porter, who is currently wanted for arrest.
“There have never been any questions on my integrity. There’s no controversy on my ethics,” Bachand said, boasting a clean record.
Should there be a second ballot on Sunday, Bachand and Moreau have agreed they will work together to try to defeat Couillard.
“I’ve never made any problems in saying that I knew Arthur Porter,” was Couillard’s response to the criticism. “He was a very good acquaintance of mine, a friend you could say.”
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Quebec pundits suggest that if the objective is to eventually topple the Parti Quebecois government, then the Liberals are better off with the self-assured, charismatic neurosurgeon, even if the mystery around Porter persists.
A Leger marketing poll revealed that Phillipe Couillard is seen as having the best chances of beating the Parti Québécois in the next election. Thirty-four per cent of people polled believed he would win. Only nine per cent thought Bachand could beat Pauline Marois, and just four per cent favoured Moreau.
Rhéal Séguin covers politics for The Globe and Mail. He said the Quebec Liberal Party is a party in a hurry: “The Liberals are looking for a winner, not a loser. And a winner means finding the best leader who can go in the next election campaign and bring them back to power.”
The leadership convention will be held at the Verdun Auditorium this weekend. The new leader will be chosen on Sunday.
Click here to follow updates from the convention on the Global News’ liveblog.
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