dimanche 26 octobre 2008
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The Macleans.ca Interview: André Arthur
The Macleans.ca Interview: André Arthur
The independent MP on his election-night win, the Conservatives' performance in Quebec, and his new TV show
Philippe Gohier | Oct 23, 2008 | 6:27 pm EST
Once known as King Arthur for the enormous sway he held over listeners of his radio show, André Arthur swept into politics as an independent in 2006 by beating the Bloc incumbent in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier by more than 7,000 votes. This time around, his margin of victory shrunk to 662 votes. Macleans.ca caught up with Arthur, who is also the host of Le midi avec André Arthur on TQS, last week. And though he insists he remains intensely loyal to Stephen Harper, the outspoken Arthur didn't mince words when it came to the Conservatives' campaign organization.
Q: How do you explain what happened in your riding?
A: The two parties that made a terrible showing in 2006—the NDP, who were barely there, and the Liberals, who weren't there at all—picked up a lot of the federalist vote. In the meantime, the Bloc barely gained anything, but they launched an extremely personal campaign against me with the help of a local newspaper. The result of all this was a Hitchcockian evening.
Q: Going into the election, it was widely expected that you would coast to victory, along with a number of Conservatives in and around Quebec City.
A: In the Quebec City area, even though just one Conservative candidate lost, there was a surprising wave of support for the Bloc. That was mostly caused, in my opinion, by the very, very poor campaign the ADQ's people ran for the Conservatives. I get the feeling that hurt me.
A: Barring [Conservative candidates] from speaking, barring them from public debates, preventing them from having a regional program—all that nonsense was decided in Ottawa by a group of ADQ supporters who've never done anything worthwhile; the proof of that is that Mario Dumont still isn't the premier of Quebec. There's this collection of losers hanging around Mario Dumont that are now with the Conservatives. Also, Stephen Harper's flirting with the ADQ sent Charest into a rage and the government of Quebec relentlessly attacked the Conservatives to punish them for it.
Q: Dumont is now blaming Charest for the Bloc's success. He says Quebec was weakened by the election results.
A: He's right. But you shouldn't forget that Charest's intent was to punish Harper for associating with Dumont. We were watching a provincial campaign take place!
Q: Do you think the Parti Québécois might do better as a result of the Bloc's resurgence?
A: Jean Charest's the winner. Look at the federal Liberal vote that reappeared. Those people are just waiting to vote for Charest. And Charest won everything because he saw Harper leaning on the ADQ on several occasions. When the Conservatives went and left the ADQ to run their campaign, Charest saw it and sandbagged them. He let [Quebec Culture Minister Christine] St-Pierre loose on them. She was all over the place, thinking she was saving culture. She never even realized she was doing a hit job.
Q: Did the Conservatives have a choice? Was their Quebec base sufficiently organized that they didn't actually need to rely on the ADQ?
A: The choice to not be rotten? They didn't have to be rotten. They didn't have to be amateurs. I'll give you the most extraordinary example: Josée Verner is one of the rare instances of a politician who's grown into the job; she was totally green when she got to Ottawa. Now, she's got a handle on her files; she defends them well enough. And with a little help, she can be brilliant when she expresses herself. Well, they never let her speak, and it's on her files that the campaign collapsed because the artists wanted us to keep paying for their trips.
Q: You consider it a loss to have kept 10 of 11 seats?
Q: Given the Conservatives' persistent weakness in Quebec and the absence of strong voices in its Quebec caucus, are you expecting to play a bigger role?
A: Not at all. I'm not in the caucus. I'm not a Conservative. I collaborate in a piecemeal way, when it helps the Portneuf-Jacques-Cartier riding. My attitude won't change. If they consult me, I'll tell them: "Fire your organizers, find yourself some strong candidates and start campaigning right away."
Q: How important is the loss of Michael Fortier?
A: That guy's job was to represent the Montreal region. How many Conservatives won in Montreal? [Zero.] Not impressive.
Q: So you're not surprised that Fortier lost?
A: That he didn't win didn't surprise me, because everyone could tell that nothing was working over there. On top of that, he was up against Meili Faille, who is a force of nature. Look, the Bloc ran a brilliant campaign. They were helped by Charest, and they took advantage of the sitting duck that was the Conservatives.
Q: You seem more frustrated with the Conservatives, or more specifically, its organizers, than you have in the past.
A: I'm frustrated because it's put us in a dangerous situation. Canada needed a majority government. With the economic period we're entering, we don't need cat fights in Parliament. We needed a strong government. I'm ticked off at the Conservatives who put national unity in danger by letting the Bloc get in their way in an election where separation wasn't even an issue.
Q: You've said on your show that you don't expect this government to last as long as the last one.
A: We lasted two-and-a-half years. Now, as soon as the Liberals dump Dion in May, whether it's [Frank] McKenna or anybody else who replaces him, the first thing that person will ask for is an election and he or she will get one. The only reason we lasted that long in the last Parliament was the Liberals and their financial situation. They were well aware they were going to be flying with Air Inuit.
Q: Will you keep doing your TV show when Parliament starts up?
A: First of all, I'm an independent. I wouldn't be able to do television if I was a caucus member. Given that I'm an independent, I don't think there are any conflicts of interest, especially since my shows don't typically deal with politics all that much. It's been brought up recently because of the election, but I've never done a show that focused primarily on politics. It's never been more than 10 to 15 per cent of my content. That said, I've always wanted to go to Ottawa with my microphone to introduce my new friends. Well, now I get to do it.