Not in the immediate future, of course. But in a few years’ time.
Jean Charest has made an astounding comeback from the time, not long ago, when, at the lowest point of his popularity, his chances of re-election as Liberal premier of Quebec were considered non-existent.
Not so any longer – partly by default. His opposition is gravely weakened by internal disputes.
The Quebec Liberal party is conservative. In 1986, at the age of twenty-eight, Jean Charest became the youngest minister in Canadian history when Brian Mulroney appointed him member of his cabinet. A return to Ottawa would make perfect sense.
Lawrence Cannon, until the May 2 election Minister of External Affairs in Stephen Harper’s government, said recently at a youth meeting of Quebec Liberals in Sherbrooke, that he considered Charest an exceptional man and probably the best politician of his generation. He is unlikely to be the only observer of the scene who thinks so.
Last Tuesday, Le Devoir complained to police that hackers had tampered with its website and posted a fake story saying that Charest died of a heart attack after being transported to a Montreal hospital.
A spokesperson for the premier quickly confirmed that Charest was in fact safe and sleeping soundly.
Charest later remarked to reporters that his political death has been forewarned more than once. “But it’s the first time they’ve covered it from this angle.”
This may be the first time a spectacular political future for him is predicted in a universally accessible blog.
Eric Koch’s book, The Weimar Triangle, is available at Indigo-Chapters and in your local bookstore. 
Even when Charest was a very young federal red Tory cabinet minister, speaking to a community group in Scarborough in the late 1980′s, he had “future prime minister” written all over him. Despite normal political ups and downs since then, he has proved his mettle. So yes, the prediction of a “spectacular political future” in this blog is entirely plausible, and an outcome devoutly to be wished for.
Ugh!