The Father of Quebec?
The Parti Quebecois has just elected a cocaine-sniffing homosexual as its leader.
Why is either of these characteristics significant?
Not because of their morality or immorality, but because I can't imagine Quebecers, or really any people in the world, electing such a person to lead their nation into sovereignty - based almost solely on perception.
In 1995, Quebec had Lucien Bouchard, and to a lesser extent, Jacques Parizeau leading the charge for independence. Bouchard had just fought his way out of a potentially life-threatening disease. The way he responded gave the sovereigntists a huge boost in a referendum that would have otherwise resulted in a much larger federalist victory.
Personally, I wouldn't mind voting for a homosexual candidate as long as his or her ideology was in relative sync with my own... however, when creating a nation, when asking someone to lead you towards sovereignty, I would think that "identity politics" would cause many Quebecers to hesitate putting the potential "birth" of a nation into the hands of someone who was weak enough to take cocaine when he was a cabinet minister.
Bosclair also doesn't have that sort of traditional family that most Quebecers could relate to. I'm not trying to make his homosexuality out to be a big deal... but, when dealing with issues such as education, childcare, etc., I'd imagine that it's tougher for a province to elect someone who will never have children of his own (barring a mid-life conversion to heterosexuality.)
Why is either of these characteristics significant?
Not because of their morality or immorality, but because I can't imagine Quebecers, or really any people in the world, electing such a person to lead their nation into sovereignty - based almost solely on perception.
In 1995, Quebec had Lucien Bouchard, and to a lesser extent, Jacques Parizeau leading the charge for independence. Bouchard had just fought his way out of a potentially life-threatening disease. The way he responded gave the sovereigntists a huge boost in a referendum that would have otherwise resulted in a much larger federalist victory.
Personally, I wouldn't mind voting for a homosexual candidate as long as his or her ideology was in relative sync with my own... however, when creating a nation, when asking someone to lead you towards sovereignty, I would think that "identity politics" would cause many Quebecers to hesitate putting the potential "birth" of a nation into the hands of someone who was weak enough to take cocaine when he was a cabinet minister.
Bosclair also doesn't have that sort of traditional family that most Quebecers could relate to. I'm not trying to make his homosexuality out to be a big deal... but, when dealing with issues such as education, childcare, etc., I'd imagine that it's tougher for a province to elect someone who will never have children of his own (barring a mid-life conversion to heterosexuality.)
posted by Japnaam Singh at
8:18 PM
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