It was another bad day for the Quebec Liberal party, as interim leader Marc Tanguay was forced to discuss his failure to bring Vaudreuil MNA Marie-Claude Nichols back into the fold.
“You know, political party goes between bad weather from time to time,” Tanguay said at a press conference.
His party is in the midst of a hefty storm.
When Tanguay was named interim leader last week, he said his first order of business would be to lure Nichols back into the already historically small Liberal caucus.
Nichols was kicked out of the party by then-leader Dominique Anglade, because the Vaudreuil MNA was upset she did not get a prominent job that Anglade had given to another MNA.
Tanguay extended an olive branch and thought he had found a compromise that would make everyone happy.
“I invested a lot of hours and energy trying to make sure that Marie-Claude would accept to reintegrate into the Liberal caucus,” he said.
He offered Nichols the job of third vice-president for two years, the second half of the mandate. Under the agreement, Viau MNA Frantz Benjamin would get the job for the first two years. The deal stalled when Benjamin said he was not interested in splitting the role.
“This is becoming way too public. Normally, internal tensions should not leak out so much, so openly,” said Daniel Beland of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. “Obviously Benjamin resented that deal, and now the deal is off.”
Tanguay said the deal “is something that cannot ensure the cohesion of the group.”
Meanwhile, Nichols went on 98.5FM radio saying that though she is still a Liberal, she feels she cannot return to the party right now, as she does not feel wanted.
“For me, it’s over. I will wait for the next leader,” she told host Paul Arcand.
Tanguay said his party is now focused on the future. He has under two weeks to prepare it for the next national assembly session.