One talk show has Quebecers engaged

‘Tout le monde en parle’ welcomed all five party leaders ahead of next week’s election

There’s a week left before Election Day in Quebec. Despite the cancellation of some campaign events to deal with the catastrophe caused by the remnants of hurricane Fiona, the outcome appears predetermined. The avalanche of daily announcements, online ads, and two televised debates among the five leaders hasn’t moved the needle in any significant way.

François Legault’s CAQ will form another majority government according to the latest polls. The only cliffhanger is which party will form the official opposition, as the Liberals, the Parti Québécois, Québec Solidaire and the Conservatives are neck and neck.

Still, a television talk show last night on Radio-Canada could have a last-minute impact no one can predict.

“Tout le monde en parle” (Everybody’s talking about it) has replaced Sunday mass in Quebec. For the past18 years, it’s been must-see TV in Quebec. It regularly draws more than 1.5 million viewers in a province with a population of 8.4 million. Proof that conventional, appointment television is alive and well in Quebec. Add to this the online chatter in real time on social media, and you have a weekly media event that can make or break guests.

Its influential host, Guy A. Lepage, is the show’s high priest. He quizzes his guests, which might include a poet sitting next to a politician, with a blend of softball and pointed questions, adding zingers and pouring wine just for laughs.

If Quebec has an Oprah Effect, it’s likely to happen on Sunday nights. The show triggered the federal NDP’s orange wave in Quebec in 2011. When the late Jack Layton appeared on the show, Lepage clearly found him endearing, calling him “un bon Jack,” a French idiom meaning a good guy. The audience clearly felt the same way. The NDP went on to earn 46 per cent of the votes. Five weeks earlier, polls had projected it would get 20 per cent.

Sunday night’s live show, the season’s premiere, had the five leaders participating at once. They appeared somewhat ironically after a long interview with drag queen Gisèle Lullaby, best known for winning season three of “Canada’s Drag Race.”

The gathering can best be described as a salon. Makeup and hair were of course discussed during Lepage’s interview of Ms. Lullaby, the stage name of Simon Gosselin, but the show is built around a different kind of salon — a gathering made amusing and informative by an engaging host and his co-host, known as the court jester.

Unlike a debate stage with stiff leaders stand behind lecterns and attempt to deliver their taking points and attack their opponents before the clock runs out, the free flow format is more akin to four guys and a woman debating politics in a pub.

The leaders appeared more relax. Legault, grumpy for most of the campaign, was suddenly smiling ear to ear, even when his record was attacked. It was definitely more convivial than the usual debate format, and included some giggles. It’s hard to imagine Doug Ford engaging in similar banter on live television with Steven Del Duca and Andrea Horwath during the recent campaign.

While it was light on substance, it likely helped undecided voters decide which of the leaders they’d most like to have a beer with, or a glass of wine. I doubt the show triggered a wave but it may well have a ripple effect over the next week. The Parti Québécois’ leader is increasingly seen as the best leader of the opposition.

In business, clients increasingly avoid formal, scripted pitch presentations, preferring instead to conduct “chemistry” meetings to assess the fit before hiring a firm. That’s what “Tout le monde en parle” offered voters on Sunday — a chance to meet in the salon.

Just like effective advertising, it was a blend of entertainment, information and persuasion. And it demonstrates that good old television is still a powerful medium to get everyone talking in Quebec.

While it was light on substance, the show likely helped undecided voters decide which of the leaders they’d most like to have a beer with, or a glass of wine. I doubt the show triggered a wave but it may well have a ripple effect over the next week