Pierre-Karl Péladeau Taking Over PQ Reins

Pierre-Karl Péladeau....Eyes firmly on the Premier Prize

I once met a leasing agent at a trade show where she introduced  me to her new young assistant, whose odd but familiar second name, piqued my interest.

Later on I bumped into the agent again, this time without the assistant in tow and asked if the young lady was indeed the daughter of the owner of the company.

"Yes she is" answered the agent sardonically, " I didn't exactly have a choice in taking her on."
To which I inquired of her rather cruelly, (I wasn't a big fan) how it felt to be training her replacement!

And so when Pierre-Karl Péladeau was introduced by Pauline Marois as a PQ candidate in the upcoming election, she was in fact introducing her successor, the only question remaining is how and when that transformation will take place.

Why Pauline would embark on such a course of action, letting an overpowering rival into the party, one she cannot hope to best in any type of leadership fight is another aspect to be considered, because as bad and incompetent she is as a Premier, as a political operator, she is unrivalled.

But first lets review;

Pierre-Karl Péladeau swore up and down over the last year and as recently as last month that he would not be running in the provincial election as a PQ candidate.
But back in December the decidedly lightweight online journal, The Prince Arthur Herald reported that this was not true, scooping everyone when it reported definitively that Péladeau would run in the election and even had correctly predicted the riding in which he was going to run, St. Jerome.

"The Prince Arthur Herald’s French news team has learned that Pierre- Karl Peladeau will most likely run under the PQ banner in the riding of Saint- Jerome. A PQ source familiar with the case confirmed the rumour."  Link

An assertion that Péladeau, through a spokesman, denied vehemently.

"The rumor is totally false, reacted  Quebecor spokesman, Martin Tremblay. Pierre Karl had already denied this rumour two months or so ago, in Quebec . And he used  strong enough words to deny that there isn't any question that he will go into politics."
Quebecor  even felt the need to publish a retraction on his Twitter account, anxious to leave no room for alternative interpretation. "Pierre Karl Peladeau has no intention to stand for election. The rumor @PArthurHerald is totally false, "

Hmmm... So much for the truth.
So lets not fall for the malarkey that Péladeau just changed his mind recently deciding to throw his hat in the ring on a lark, clearly, he was on a track from the very beginning.

Ever since Marois made him chairman of Hydro-Quebec, Péladeau has steadfastly denied all rumours that he had political aspirations and so in light of events, it is reasonable to wonder just how trustworthy and honest he really is, misleading us as to his intention so nakedly, a sad precursor to what we can expect of Péladeau as a leader.

Julie Snyder...Excess baggage on voyage to Premiership

Clearly his resignation from Quebecor and his dumping of his wife Julie Snyder in January, were housecleaning events, clearing the track and leading up to this announcement.
But putting all this aside, one has to ask why Marois, an old political warhorse would make a bargain with the devil, setting the fox into the chicken coop she oversees.
It is only a question of time before Péladeau is given the keys to or grabs the reins of power, clearly he isn't a man ready to play second fiddle and certainly not to someone as incompetent as Pauline Marois.

Should Marois win her majority, Péladeau will become more than her de facto deputy premier, he will no doubt  fill the role of Lord Protector, wielding the real power behind the throne, eventually taking over completely when Pauline has played out her fantasy and retires into the sunset, having fulfilled her lifetime ambition. (being Premier, that is)
I assume that is the plan that Pauline has signed off on, willing to play the role of titular head of state, enjoying the trappings of office while leaving the real work to her new hatchet man.

I can only chuckle at the thought of the hard-nosed, capable and pragmatic Péladeau sitting around the cabinet table and entertaining the idiotic ideas and notions of the PQ idiot-ministers.
How that will play out leaves me wondering, Péladeau doesn't suffer fools easily and there are plenty of fools among his PQ colleagues.
I'm sure that a lot of ministers are quaking in their boots right now at the thought of Péladeau's arrival, but alas, that is the stuff of another post.

Péladeau is a one man show who has ruled Quebecor with an iron fist, successfully smashing unions at his newspapers and this with a malicious and sadistic vengeance, a viciously nasty battle which he enjoyed like a disturbed child pulling wings off a fly.
He is no saviour to the PQ's unionized base or entitled masses, that much is for sure!

His candidacy was roundly condemned Sunday by the FTQ,  Quebec's largest union, as a "catastrophe" for working men and women in Quebec.
"He is probably one of the worst employers that Quebec has ever known," the FTQ said in a news release, citing Péladeau's history of lockouts.

For his potential opponents, both within and without the PQ, I can only warn them that this guy plays super rough, the likes of which ordinary politicians have never seen.
I'm reminded of the old aphorism that reminds us that one should never wrestle with a pig, because you both get dirty, but the pig enjoys it.
 
With the Quebec Liberals a lot closer in the polls than was predicted by the media of late, Péladeau will be the linchpin to an election win or loss for the PQ.

While Pauline sees Péladeau as a necessary component to election victory, she may be making a pact with the devil and the gambit could very well backfire if the Liberals push the notion that Péladeau will usurp the throne and impose his harsh austerity and anti-union and anti-entitlement philosophy, imposing upon the province a punishing economic regimen worthy of an army boot-camp sergeant.

Anybody who is being unfairly rewarded, be it lazy-ass fisherman in the Gaspé, beneficiaries of wasteful electricity projects, welfare recipients and up to and including the entire over-paid and bloated government public service, should be on notice.
Péledeau represents a slash and burn manager, who embraces a take no prisoners economic and business mentality, where the bottom line is more important than people.
It is a philosophy no Quebec political figure would dare enunciate and one that even Francois Legault would be too frightened to even contemplate.

The Liberals could exploit this weakness, because in the end sovereignty aside, people will vote their economic interest if they see it threatened.
While Péladeau may earn votes from middle class voters previously fearful of the economic ramshackle fostered by the PQ, the traditional union and entitled base may be frightened off.

It is fascinating political theatre with an outcome difficult to predict.

Péladeau is everything the province of Quebec needs, a leader willing to make the tough economic decisions that are needed to get Quebec on track, including cutting out entitlements and government waste, no matter the cost it imposes on the entitled.

But Quebec voters are probably too invested in the status quo to abide by the painful dose of economic and political truth that Péladeau would deliver.

To paraphrase the movies, when it comes to Quebec voters.

THEY CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!