QUEBEC - He earned strong reviews for his performance but it's unclear whether Jean Charest's two-day appearance on the witness stand might help save his political reputation.
The Quebec premier good-naturedly fended off suggestions, while testifying at a public inquiry, that he allowed Liberal party bagmen to call the shots when it came to picking judges.
He gently teased a hostile interrogator and joked about his own personal faults. The sole awkward moment came, perhaps, when he was pressed to defend the close relationship between employees in his office and party fundraisers.
At the end of his testimony Friday, one television network ran the ticker headline: "Jean Charest, Unshakable."
Le Devoir newspaper, normally a staunch critic of the Charest government, conceded Friday that the premier had a good first day on the stand.
"It's hard to see how he could have been any more convincing in his testimony (Thursday)," columnist Michel David wrote on the newspaper's front page.
"Like all good hockey players, Mr. Charest has always managed to elevate his game at critical moments."
David suggested that whether Charest, after nine years as premier, still dreams of a career in federal politics, an international position, or a career in the private sector, he wants to leave office with his head held high.
Defending his reputation
The question of whether Charest can save his reputation loomed large over the proceedings.
Charest was accused by his former justice minister, Marc Bellemare, of essentially allowing Liberal bagmen to name judges. He says he tried warning Charest and was ignored.
The premier angrily denied the charge. He and Bellemare are now engaged in a lawsuit and countersuit, and Charest used his time on the witness stand to attack his ex-minister's credibility.
Charest alternated between picking apart details of Bellemare's story and expressing pity for his former minister.
He deployed folksy humour when denying that he'd spoken to one of the bagmen on the phone. "I'm not strong on the telephone. I have other strengths, maybe," the premier quipped.
He was also quick with a crack when Bellemare's lawyer promised that his questions weren't headed in any specific direction. "That's what I think, too," Charest deadpanned.
Critics unimpressed
The performance appearance is unlikely to satisfy Charest's legion of critics.
They view the premier's snap decision to call the Bastarache commission as a political ruse, a blatant attempt to fend off calls for a broader inquiry into various accusations of political corruption.
Several of his ministers have been involved in controversies related to political fundraising and questionable business ties.
Charest's political stock has plummeted since last year. The slide began when he refused to call an inquiry -- despite deafening demands in the province -- into corruption in the construction industry.
That's why his critics were so stunned by the immediate decision to call an inquiry when Bellemare made his allegations about the selection of judges. They soon asked him to drop those hearings, and replace them with a broader probe.
Charest's own party is deeply unpopular, and polls before the premier's appearance suggested few Quebecers were inclined to believe him.
