It is therefore official, Stephen Harper supports the candidacy of Pierre Poilievre in the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada.

In a video posted on Twitter, Mr. Harper announced aloud what everyone already knew: he still has a turd on his heart against Jean Charest.

Let's be clear, when Mr. Harper says that Mr. Poilievre is the most credible to deal with economic issues, including debt and inflation, no one believes him. We still have more esteem for the former prime minister to think that he really believes that cryptocurrencies and the war on the Bank of Canada are the solutions to inflation.

So why is he backing Mr. Poilievre? Here are some more realistic hypotheses than the officially advanced reasons:

The last two polls show that momentum is beginning to emerge for Jean Charest's campaign, which is making significant progress. And this falls at a pivotal moment, that of the exit of the vote before next September 10.

A wind of panic may have blown through the Poilievre clan, a wind strong enough to drive out a former prime minister who promised to remain officially neutral from his reserve.

Another hypothesis that I submit is that of Stephen Harper's historical contempt for Quebec. We remember the tug of war between the two levels of government when Jean Charest and himself were in office. We especially remember that Stephen Harper had succeeded in winning his parliamentary majority without Quebec. This victory had galvanized the western conservatives who saw in it proof that one could easily combine victory without Quebecers. These same conservatives who today constitute the militant base of Pierre Poilievre. They therefore did not understand that this was the exception that proves the rule: Quebec is essential to govern the country.