Thursday, November 12, 2009

ADQ or NAUDQ

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More news about the ADQ. The ADQ, who's name in english translates, roughly, to the Democratic Action Party, has managed to be un democratic without taking any actions at all. The Non-Action Un-Democratic party of Quebec, last we saw, was on the table in the OR waiting to be shocked by the docs. Well it got it's shock, and the news it, its not going to make it.

Newly Minted ADQ leader Gilles Taillon has decided to call it quits. The longtime ADQ leader has been embroiled in controversy since he took over the helm. First, his margin of victory over his main rival was two votes, one of which was cast by a Quebec satire TV show. His main rival then came up with some BS excuse to quit the caucus and did so, bringing a pal along.

The long and the short of it is that the ADQ has always been tied to the right. Stockwell Day, while leader of the Canadian Alliance, sent out feelers to the party, and even this very minor back room lip service helped him to beat out the PC Party by 2 points in the province. Harper at first kept his distance - and won 0 seats in the province - then decided to work with the ADQ, winning nearly a dozen seats, and polling, at times, neck and neck with the Bloc. The ADQ in return for this cozy arrangement went from 4 to 41 MNAs and formed the official opposition. Taillon, it appears, did not like this buddy-buddy deal, and wanted to distance the ADQ from the federal Tories. This, it seems, was his undoing.

What happens now is actually pretty clear. Gerard Deltell will, in a short amount of time, be crowned ADQ leader. Caire and Picard will rejoin the caucus, and all will be right again. Or perhaps not.

The ADQ is going to take a hit for all of this. A big hit. I for one expect the party will have trouble finding 100 candidates for Quebec's 125 ridings. The ADQ will remain a third option for Francophones outside of Montreal, but will be just that, the third option. QS will remain the alternative for Montrealers, and Vert/Greens will remain the alternative for anglophones province wide.

The only good news is that Deltell's riding is the most secure riding for the ADQ in the province. Meaning that when he faces the next election, he has a 50-50 chance of getting a single ADQer back into the assembly. Perhaps then, the ADQ can start the rebuilding process.


Sorry, no extra data today!