General

Patapouf is large and in charge

Just to back up what that other maudit anglais wrote about the (supposedly) upcoming election, here are some figures from a Léger poll released on Monday:

  • Liberals: 42%
  • PQ: 34%
  • ADQ: 14%

Of course, Charest hasn’t actually called the election yet. And while La Presse‘s Denis Lessard insists the premier’s been planning one for a long time, Le Devoir‘s Antoine Robitaille reports no decision had been made until the opposition parties’ weekend pow-wows.

Either way, Pauline Marois apparently wants no part of an election and, if I’m Mario Dumont, I’m praying she succeeds in delaying it. The ADQ is heading into the race with no momentum whatsoever—even its own members aren’t too fond of the party right now. As for the PQ’s chances, unless it catches lightning in a bottle like the ADQ did in 2007, they’ll probably pick up enough seats to become official opposition, but it doesn’t look like Quebecers are about to elect their first-ever female premier.

All of which begs the question: How, exactly, did Jean Charest go from being the most widely mocked lame-duck premier in modern history to being all but assured of a third consecutive mandate?

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