More elections!

The safe Liberal ridings of Westmount-St. Louis (provincial) and Westmount-Ville Marie (federal) are not expected to see any change. Both MNA Jacques Chagnon and MP Lucienne Robillard have held onto this piece of sacred political real estate for years,

Even while their respective parties went through times of great turmoil, from the federal sponsorship scandal to the ongoing agglomeration battle at the provincial level, our representatives in Ottawa and Quebec City kept well out of the fray. Over the years, they have taken much flak from Examiner readers for what some perceived as their apparent lack of presence, action and/or opinion on matters that directly affected their constituents—again, the entire Bill 170 saga comes readily to mind—but through it all both Chagnon and Robillard have managed to maintain unblemished public records, usually while handling a major cabinet portfolio. You might accuse them of being wishy-washy fence-sitters who avoid controversy in order to save their political careers, but it must be remembered that longevity is not guaranteed to a politician who wades recklessly into volatile issues any more than it is to a swimmer who wades into a piranha-infested river. A cautious politician may not make for interesting headlines, but at least they keep winning elections.

Even with recent efforts by the Action Démocratique to make headway into hitherto unchallenged Liberal strongholds like Westmount and the West Island with their promises to do away with Montreal’s top-heavy and grossly unpopular Agglomeration Council, it is highly unlikely that any other candidate will even come close to dislodging Chagnon from his long-held and much-cherished job as Westmount’s official representative in Quebec City.

Some mayors are backing the ADQ and exasperated citizens are waving inflated tax bills, so the upcoming elections could bring changes to our diverse political landscape. But locally, you can be sure that after all the name-calling and mudslinging, Westmount’s tried-and-true Liberal incumbents will be the ones left standing when the dust settles.