Crisis in the PLQ | Charles Milliard calls for calm
(Quebec) Disappointed candidate for leadership of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Charles Milliard launches a call for calm and unity at a time when liberal activists intend to force the holding of an extraordinary general council to respond to the crisis which is shaking leader Pablo Rodriguez.
This group denies fomenting a putsch, although none of its representatives was in the Rodriguez camp during the leadership race. He does not question the integrity of the leader elected in June, but he deplores his management of the crisis which, according to him, undermines the image of the formation.
“It is time to appeal for calm,” wrote Charles Milliard on social networks late in the morning.
As soon as he was elected, I rallied behind Pablo and continued to be involved in the PLQ. I am a party man.
Charles Milliard, on social networks
Reminding that “the race is over”, he now says he is devoting his energies to his work as a university professor. “The current situation hurts my activist heart and I have full confidence in the process put in place to shed light. »
Pablo Rodriguez decided to launch an external investigation that his party entrusted to the former chief judge of the Superior Court, Jacques R. Fournier.
This investigation concerns allegations concerning the payment of a sum of money – a “brownie” in reference to the brown $100 bill – in exchange for a vote for Pablo Rodriguez in the leadership race.
The allegations come from a report by Montreal Journal regarding a text exchange last spring “between two people who were actively working to elect Mr. Rodriguez as leader.” The Chief Electoral Officer would be interested in these messages. The PLQ sent a formal notice to Montreal Journal to have the name and telephone number of the two people. He clarified on Sunday that the duration of the investigation is not yet known although it was written that it would be one to three months.
“I share with the leader his quest for truth. Let’s stay united,” concludes Charles Milliard in his message.
For his part, the former president of the political commission of the PLQ, André Pratte, affirms on social networks that “this idea of a special general council and a vote of confidence is the recipe for the self-destruction of the PLQ”.
“It is time for solidarity and rallying behind the leader. Any other attitude leads straight to the victory of the PQ in 2026, with serious consequences for the future of Quebec,” writes Mr. Pratte, who co-chaired the PLQ recovery committee.
According to the former senator, two factors can limit the extent of the current crisis. The first: “total transparency”, which is “acquired” according to him with the external investigation. The second: the “passage of time”. “The party must return to the work of reconstruction to which it has devoted itself since, in particular the development of an electoral platform which will tackle the concrete problems which Quebecers face. Holding a special general council would have the effect of distracting us from these essential tasks,” he believes. There is “no reason” according to him to hold a vote of confidence in the leader elected in June.
“We do politics; if we had to change leaders with each crisis, there would be no end to it,” pleads this former columnist to The Press.
