Challenges encountered in enlisting new participants
Tossing a spanner in the works, Quebec Liberal Party's leadership race has been disappointing so far, sources say. Roughly three months into the race, a paltry 5,000 new members have signed up, according to sources close to the party.
PC leader Jean Charest's previous campaign strategy includes a stark contrast. In the same timeframe, Charest managed to sell around 25,000 membership cards in Quebec alone. It's no wonder that political strategist Salim Idrissi isn't impressed with the PLQ's performance, calling it more about "positioning" than membership sales.
As the first two debates kick off this weekend, each candidate aims to solidify their position as the best contender to take on Legault in the next election. Despite the low membership numbers, there's a silver lining—the slow pace might be due to public apathy towards party politics rather than a lack of quality candidates, according to former communications director Jeremy Ghio.
Ghio points out that external factors, such as the U.S. election of Donald Trump, the resignation of Justin Trudeau, and subsequent federal election, have hindered the PLQ's momentum. However, the sluggish membership sales are hard to ignore, resulting in a less-than-ideal start to the race.
Despite the downbeat outlook, a Liberal source contends that the race is not entirely failing to take off. Perhaps people are reluctant to identify with a political party now and favor making donations instead of registering as members.
Interestingly, the PLQ's electoral committee has chosen to make the race highly unpredictable. Members from smaller ridings may have a disproportionate impact on the vote regardless of the number of members in their constituency. Additionally, the online voting platform could potentially allow members to vote for candidates other than the one who sold them their membership card. Such intricate dynamics and the unique approach to membership sales seem to create an unpredictable outcome in the PLQ's leadership race.
- Salim Idrissi finds the Quebec Liberal Party's (PLQ) low membership numbers less impressive than their positional maneuvers, asserting that it's more about "positioning" than membership sales.
- The upcoming debates could solidify each candidate's position as the best contender to challenge Legault in the next election, despite the paltry 5,000 new members who have signed up in the PLQ's leadership race.
- Jeremy Ghio suggests that public apathy towards party politics could be the reason for the slow pace of PLQ membership sales, but the low numbers are still a cause for concern.
- External factors, such as the U.S. election of Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau's resignation, and subsequent federal election, have possibly hindered the PLQ's momentum.
- The PLQ's electoral committee has adopted a unique approach to membership sales, making the race highly unpredictable. Members from smaller ridings might have a disproportionate impact on the vote, and the online voting platform could potentially allow members to vote for candidates other than the one who sold them their membership card.
- In contrast to the PLQ, Jean Charest managed to sell around 25,000 membership cards in Quebec alone during his previous campaign.
- Besides party politics, general news topics such as car-accidents, fires, crime-and-justice, war-and-conflicts, and French migration might also attract public interest, potentially diverting attention away from the PLQ's leadership race.
