The major shake up in the race to lead the PQ has caused the governing Liberals to take notice, and they say the move is politics at its worst.
Last week, Drainville said he was the only candidate fit to lead, adding that the PQ should not be fooled by what he called the Peladeau "mirage."
Now Drainville has joined Pierre Karl Peladeau's camp for what he called the sake of party unity.
“You have people in the race that are saying one thing and they are saying the contrary five days later,” Health Minister Gaetan Barrette pointed out. “The PQ is feeding cynicism in this province because it's a matter of manipulating the facts.”
Former Drainville supporter Sylvain Gaudreault is also backing PKP. Gaudreault is the PQ's environment critic, and the Liberals say it's an awkward fit.
“He's been saying for many months now that the TransCanada project cannot go ahead and Peladeau is clearly on the opposite side of that,” said Environment Minister David Heurtel, adding he believes Gaudreault will have to compromise, especially on oil exploration.
“Right now what you're seeing is Peladeau bringing back the PQ to its original pro-oil stance,” Heurtel said.
Former Drainville leadership supporter MNA Sylvain Roy also made the switch over to the Peladeau camp. He says the Liberals are just scared at the prospect of a revitalized PQ under Peladeau.
"They're panicking. They see the Peladeau team consolidating. They're genuinely worried we'll regain power in three years,” he said.
Drainville supporters say it just made practical, logical sense to back Peladeau. They acknowledge the Peladeau wave is heading toward them, and they want to get on board.
