Time & Perspective Quote by Pauline Marois

Panic is a political resource, and Pauline Marois is trying to take it off the table. “We need to all calm down a little” isn’t therapy-speak; it’s a bid for authority. The speaker positions herself as the adult in the room, the one person not compelled by the news cycle’s adrenaline. In politics, that posture can be as strategic as any policy: if you can define the moment as overheated, you get to define your opponents as reckless.

“Let’s take the time to breathe” works because it sounds collective and humane while quietly setting the tempo. Breathing is slow, deliberate, controlled; it implies that someone else has been hyperventilating. The invitation is also a mild rebuke: you’re overreacting, and I’m not. That’s a classic leader’s move when controversy threatens to swallow a broader agenda.

The last line sharpens the intent into something steelier: “I have no intention of allowing myself be distracted.” It’s less about inner peace than about message discipline. Marois signals that whatever drama is flaring - media scrutiny, partisan attacks, a policy backlash - she intends to treat it as noise. The subtext is defensive but confident: I won’t chase every provocation, and I won’t let you drag me onto your terrain.

For a Quebec politician often navigating identity, language, and governance under intense spotlight, “calm” becomes a form of control. She’s not just urging composure; she’s claiming the right to decide what matters next.