The “populism” according to Philippe Couillard

Photo AFP
The prime minister of Quebec on an official visit to Paris. At right: Emmanuel Macron, the president of the Republic.

Josée Legault

Tuesday, march 6, 2018 12:34

UPDATE
Tuesday, march 6, 2018 12:49

Look at this article

There are still seven months before the election on October 1, and Philippe Couillard came out already its big words.

An official visit to Paris, the prime minister took to the CAQ in the jumble of the populist movements amounts in Europe.

At this rate, at the time of the election campaign, Mr. Couillard risk of running out of ammunition rhetoric against his main opponent.

It must be said that the liberal leader has anything to be worried about. According to the latest survey Light/The Journal/The Duty, the QLP would not have more than 16% of support among voters francophones. A historic low.

His output, particularly non-diplomatic in Paris is indeed a sign of the concern obvious. But also, the known tendency of the prime minister to claim to be a paragon of openness in the face of his opponents that he has been accused, after all, “blowing on the embers of intolerance”…

(To read the response of the head caquiste, François Legault, is here.)

Therefore, according to Mr. Couillard, the CAQ would be populist because it would be “solutions that are very simple to very complex issues”. A definition of populism, of course, rather limited.

In fact, nowadays, even the notion of “populism” has become a catch-all where the perceptions and broad generalizations of each claim to be the truth incarnate.

For this reason, let’s keep the definition very partial in Philippe Couillard, pointing the CAQ : to propose solutions that are very simple to very complex problems.

Is this the case for the CAQ?

Answer: when the QAC will present its election platform detailed, voters will be able to judge just as we do as analysts.

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In the meantime, let’s see if the LIBERALS do would not, in itself, in the through the “propose solutions that are very simple to very complex issues”.

To take just one example, but certainly not least : the “reforms” Module in health and social services.

I think we can easily say that the public system of health and social services poses problems which are very complex.

However, the response of the government Couillard, through its omnipuissant minister of Health, Gaétan Barrette, was to offer simplistic solutions, or even retrograde and authoritarian, to problems very complex.

Just a few examples among others:

While through the West, the decentralisation is the dominant mode of management in health and social services, the minister Barrette has rowed strongly in the other direction.

Decentralization is, however, a response much more suited to the need to provide care and services assessed and delivered by staff and managers who are much closer to the real needs of the population. In contrast, the massive centralization, such as that imposed by the Dr. Barrette, disembodies, disorganized and dehumanizes the entire system.

Theanalysis is objective and independent of the actual performance of a health system that is a response far more suitable for the complex problem that poses the same assessment. However, what did the Dr. Barrette? It has eliminated all of the counter-powers which, within the system, were empowered to fulfill this vital mission.

Theautonomy of managers is a modern response to the complex problems of an ageing population to the increasing needs in health and social services. However, what did the Dr. Barrette? It has placed the senior managers directly under his own control so as to impose an omerta de facto through the system. A response simplistic and authoritarian to a complex problem, and urgent.

Facing the complex problem that is the lack of access to medical specialists, there would have been an adequate response. As, among other things, make them much more accountable for the care they provide, or not, in a reasonable time. However, what did the Dr. Barrette? His answer simplistic and highly interested was to offer them increases making outrageous compensation without even, in fact, attach to an obligation of results.

In home care, a response that is better adapted to the complexity of the situation in an aging society had been, as had been proposed by the minister of the parti québecois Health, to create an insurance self – universal. This, in term, would have saved vast sums to the State in enabling the frail, elderly and/or disabled with intellectual and/or physical, to obtain the required support to better maintain their health and thus their quality of life. However, what did the Dr. Barrette? He made a clean sweep of the proposal without anything to offer in trade as a “plan of action”. On the contrary, in-home care have declined. In this case, a problem too complex, it is not even offered zero solution.

Etc., etc etc

In short, if one takes the definition of “populism” such as it is offered by Philippe Couillard, the real winner in all categories would be none other than his own minister of Health.

In Quebec, Gaétan Barrette is the ultimate champion solutions that are very simplistic to very complex problems…