Leaders talk, “It’s terrible pressure”

Vincent Laurin
Press

On Thursday evening, they will meet in a face-to-face format, at the TVA Nouvelles offices in Montreal, in a formula different from the Radio-Canada public debate on September 22 and where questions from the public have already been asked previously.

All these details may seem technical, but the teams responsible for preparing the chefs study them carefully. Each party also appointed a representative to the TVA Novelles offices last month to present the venues and the course of the day.

Most important: Know your numbers

But while all leaders spend time preparing for a debate, they do not all do so in the same way. For example, the former leader of the Parti Québécois, Pauline Marois, raided hundreds of pages to find the details of the electoral platform at her fingertips, recalls her former deputy chief of staff, Dominique Lebel.

“Numbers are very important to her. Madam asks them questions, memorizes, writes, etc. She places great importance on having accurate information, which is something that really characterizes her, describing the person who participated in the preparation of Concrete Lady “twice, in 2012 and 2014.

But the candidates are not stopping there. They added simulations where their teams try to see opponents’ blows and prepare counterattacks.

Already this year, several representatives, including the Liberals André Fortin and Christine Saint-Pierre, the Solidarity Vincent Marissal and the PQ’s Pascal Bérubé, have confirmed that they will participate in the preparation of their respective leaders in the simulated framework.

We try to prevent any surprise that might confuse the chef, make him make mistakes. Some candidates even go so far as to recreate the height of the lectern, during simulations, to ensure as little surprise as possible to the candidate before the oratorical competition.

“The fewer surprises there are, the more comfortable the candidate will be. You want to take the questions you’ve already heard in training, even if it’s not the perfect line you want, with an idea of ​​what to answer”, explains Dominique Lebel.

A topic of discussion in sight?

For the first time in the history of Quebec, five leaders will participate in the negotiations, the former co-representative of Quebec Solidaire François David, who lent himself to the exercise in 2012 and 2014, fears “The cacophony, I am the first to find it a little unbearable. At four, there’s already a challenge, so at five, I can imagine broadcasters pulling their hair out a bit. It’s not easy,” she said.

As co-representative of Quebec Solidaire, François David presented in 2012, then in 2014.

The second emphasizes the importance of the show “from the first hour,” which most audiences still pay attention to.

Benefit from experience?

François Legault is the only one of the five leaders taking part in the leaders’ debate this Thursday evening, although he has already participated in the exercise three times: in 2012, 2014 and 2018.

But the veteran will have to defend his record as the outgoing prime minister for the first time. Harold Fortin, who helped marry former Liberal premier Philippe Coulard in 2014 and 2018, knows his strengths and weaknesses well, but his opponents have an advantage. One should be able to view his old performances to identify flaws and points. The former strategist is out.

In some cases, this may be useful for candidates. Harold Fortin said he had already seen Philippe Coulard’s sequences between the two debates, to hone in on some points in the same campaign.

Introduce yourself to people

For some chefs, beyond a good performance, this is a golden opportunity to make themselves known to the public, even though the television ratings have been in free fall for several editions.

Remember that this year, two party leaders, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon of the Parti Québécois (PQ) and Eric Duhaime of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), were never elected. Each debate in 2018 was watched by less than 1 million viewers.

“In 2012, in my case, I remember that it was more important for me to perform well, because I knew that it would make a difference in my constituency, maybe for me,” recalls François David rightly. A few days later Gouin was elected for the first time.

On Thursday, all these veterans will be able to quietly watch the debate from their living room, without tearing their hair out over the slightest mistake by their candidate.