The harsh winter Get breaking news alerts from Le Devoir

We have turkey for 20 people. Fearing the shortage, consumers rushed to the SAQ to make sure it was well stocked. Everywhere in Quebec, we promised ourselves “normal” Holidays. Despite the meteoric rise of the Omicron variant and warnings from Ottawa, ordering the gatherings to be canceled or reduced now would cause immense disappointment.

The national director of public health, Dr Horacio Arruda, spoke last week of a "calculated risk", but the text of his recommendation and his repeated calls for caution give the clear impression that he would rather not not take it.

The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, does not hide his concern about the possibility of a new overflow of hospitals and the shortage of staff, including for the administration of the third dose.

We understand that Mr. Legault is reluctant to recant another time, but the opposition parties will not hesitate to hold him responsible for an explosion of outbreaks at the start of the year, which could quickly make people forget the Christmas magic.

Faced with the evidence of the danger, he began to prepare the minds for a new about-face which would leave a taste more bitter than that of last year. His haste again put him in a lose-lose situation.

No matter how much you argue that the new variant has swept across the planet, comparing yourself to others isn't necessarily consoling when you yourself are plunged into misfortune.

With each new wave, the population was asked to make an effort which was to be the last. Now the second dose is no longer enough and we have to go back to teleworking. The feeling of always being back at square one can only fuel dissatisfaction.

Winter is going to be tough for the government. After the difficult weeks that the trial of his management of the first wave in the CHSLDs made him go through, he could hope that the worst was over, but the hasty return of Marguerite Blais is a bad omen.

Of course, we wished her a speedy recovery from her burnout, but not fast enough for her to be able to testify before coroner Géhane Kamel, who had the unfortunate idea of ​​continuing her hearings beyond what was planned.

M^me Blais must have taken note of the treatment given to her colleague Danielle McCann, who was literally thrown under the wheels of the bus, and she certainly does not mean suffer the same fate.

In 2018, the former Liberal minister was welcomed as a true heroine at the CAQ, when she agreed to defend her colors in Prévost. She then brought the touch of empathy that this team of business people lacked, but she is now seen as a burden.

However, she will not agree to serve as a scapegoat for the appalling mess of the CHSLDs. As she had done in her memorable interview on the program Enquête, she will rather say that her warnings were not taken into account. Soon after will come the final report of the Health and Welfare Commissioner, which promises to be more full-bodied than her interim report, and, towards the end of winter, that of the coroner.

As the presence of the virus tends to become a reality with which we must learn to live permanently, other issues overshadowed by the pandemic will reappear on the radar of public opinion, which will not will no longer judge the government simply on its management of the health crisis.

While at Le Devoir this week, the leader of the PLQ, Dominique Anglade, explained that her party was targeting the progressives who voted for the CAQ in 2018, whom she estimates to represent a quarter of the CAQ electorate. It remains to be seen whether these Liberals, disappointed by the Couillard government, will be convinced by the “social-democratic” turn that she wants her party to take.

For his part, the leader of the PQ, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, intends to repatriate the sovereignists who also wanted to get rid of the Liberals, but who find that the autonomist claims of the CAQ were flimsy and who will want to vote “authentic next October.

In this regard, the upcoming by-election in Marie-Victorin will be instructive. The CAQ is convinced of winning easily in this PQ fortress. A defeat would be a serious warning. Mr. Legault said he expects the gap observed by the polls to narrow over the next few months, but he must hope that the winter is still not too harsh.

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