Amir Khadir is said to be mulling his legal options after the Journal de Montreal published an image of a painting kept in his home portraying him as a hero standing triumphant over a dead Premier Jean Charest.
An investigator working for the Montreal police found the poster depicting Amir Khadir, co-leader of Quebec Solidaire standing over the corpse of Premier Jean Charest.
Police found the poster under a glass tabletop in the family's kitchen during a search of the St. Hubert St. home of the Option Solidaire co-leader.
When asked about the image at a press conference Tuesday Amir Khadir was unrepentant, likening it to any other political cartoon.
"There are cartoons in newspapers every day that completely demolish leaders and some of those leaders have those cartons in their office, where's the problem?" he asked.
"As far as I know Jean Charest is very much alive and I hope he stays that way for a long time," said Khadir. "All I want is for Charest to lose the election."
The Mercier MNA's wife also downplayed the poster. "It's only an album cover," said Khadir's wife Nima Machouf.
The image is based on the scene of Liberty Leading the People, a famous painting by Eugene Delacroix of a bare-breasted woman leading soldiers during the French Revolution.
Khadir has hinted that he might sue Quebecor, the parent company of Le Journal de Montreal, where the story of the poster found in his house was first printed.
The poster was created by the group Mise en Demeure for their new album.
One of Charest's teammates expressed displeasure with the image.
"It's in bad taste, disgusting. I can't see where you can find something funny in this painting," said Culture Minister Christine St. Pierre.
The publication led to an eruption of discussion over social media over the relevance of the image.
--with files from The Canadian Press
