The joys and sorrows of Landry told by a friend

For 40 years, Jean-Yves Duthel has witnessed the victories and defeats, joys and sorrows of Bernard Landry. He published Wednesday the biography of the 28th Premier of Quebec, his friend.

In Bernard Landry. The legacy of a patriot, Mr. Duthel talks at length about the unexpected and painful resignation of Mr. Landry from the Parti Quebecois chieftaincy in 2005. For cause, it will haunt the former head of government until his last breath.

Mr. Landry told his biographer that he was "literally bullshit by those he (they) trusted in" for the June 2005 National PQ Conference where delegates were called to reiterate their confidence – or not. He accused his former employees Line-Sylvie Perron and Sylvain Simard of having inflated his expectations by promising him the support of 80% of the delegates, but especially of having left him no choice but to bow out after the announcement of the result: 76.2%. Jean-Yves Duthel exposes various theories, including the one that Ms. Perron and Mr. Simard pushed towards the exit Mr. Landry on behalf of Andre Boisclair – which the two protagonists have denied. Mr. Landry will be sorry for listening to them. "The more things went wrong (in the PQ), the more regret overwhelmed me," he told Mr. Duthel.

The former head of government was hard hit by electoral defeats, starting with the 2007 election, when the PQ was beaten by both the Quebec Liberal Party and the Action democratique du Quebec. "It hurts a lot, especially since I feel that I would have beaten Charest in this election," he told his biographer.

2003-2005

Mr. Landry decides to assume the responsibilities of Leader of the Official Opposition in the National Assembly after the 2003 PQ electoral backlash, which cost him his position as prime minister. Despite the support of the caucus, however, he must monitor his rear, because former ministers Pauline Marois and Francois Legault covet the leadership of the party. "Yes, there was Pauline, but there was also Legault. He, at least, I must agree, played viscerally discovered, without claiming fidelity to me. Pauline publicly swore that I had her support and, behind the scenes, her henchmen were sowing doubt, "he said.

Half victory of the PQ

Mr. Landry finds that the minority government led by Pauline Marois from 2012 to 2014 lacked audacity, can also read in Bernard Landry. The heritage of a patriot. "I have always felt in her (…) a separatist faith, say, rather lukewarm. His destructive attacks on the referendum question during the 2014 election campaign are the best illustration, "he said. After the electoral victory of the PLQ, Mr. Landry launches about Pauline Marois and his chief of staff, Nicole Stafford: "They realized their dream and killed ours! "

In the following PQ leadership races, Mr. Landry supports the candidacy of Pierre Karl Peladeau, then that of Alexandre Cloutier. No question of standing behind Jean-Francois Lisee. He blamed former prime minister Jacques Parizeau and Lucien Bouchard for their blatant lack of judgment. During the referendum campaign of 1995, Jean-Francois Lisee had tried to have Bernard Landry sign a missive of his own intended for the then US Minister of Foreign Affairs, Warren Christopher, reports Jean-Yves Duthel. The letter had the appearance of "a threat (from Quebec) against the Americans if they made any statement against the sovereignty of Quebec," adds Mr. Duthel, who advised Mr. Landry not to affix his signature. A "serious incident" was narrowly averted just days before the referendum, says Duthel nearly 25 years after the events.

Through lengthy interviews, Mr. Landry delivered his impressions to Mr. Duthel on other Canadian and Quebec political actors. The former Minister of Finance had little sympathy for Quebec Solidaire's founding member, Francoise David, with whom he had struggled during the fiscal consolidation efforts leading to the "zero deficit". "Between Mother Teresa and Rosa Luxembourg, she, the most bourgeois bourgeoisie, was teaching us about social and economic progress," he told his biographer.

The former PQ also tells his friend Jean-Yves Duthel that he hired in his ministerial cabinet Maxime Bernier, and this, "because of the pleas of his father Gilles Bernier". Even if the latter quickly becomes a "nuisance", Mr. Landry has him appointed to the Montreal Exchange. Seeing him join Stephen Harper's government, Mr. Landry told his family: "It is clear that it is not always intelligence that succeeds. "

Victory of the CAQ

Citizen Bernard Landry welcomed with some satisfaction the defeat of the PLQ in the hands of the Coalition avenir Quebec on October 1, 2018. He nevertheless remained convinced that the PQ could recover in the coming years, especially if the Legault government suffered a setback from Ottawa. "(Francois Legault) will soon find himself in front of a tough choice. When the federal government has slammed the door in his face for all his requests for increased powers for Quebec, he will have to make him either a Rene Levesque or a Philippe Couillard! " he said.

For its part, the PQ would probably be willing to form a government alliance that would set the course for sovereignty, he also advanced.

Until the twilight of his life, the former prime minister made suggestions to revive the PQ. Among them, convince Gilles Baril to run for the PQ chieftaincy. "We need to get him back into political action now," he said.