"Myself and time against any two men," said one of Premier Jean Charest's predecessors as leader of the federal Conservative Party, Sir John A. Macdonald, nicknamed Old Tomorrow.
We'll see how well Charest and time fare against not just two men, but almost the entire province.
The opposition parties, the mayors of Montreal and Quebec City, the order of engineers, even the pro-Liberal press - almost everybody outside of Charest's government agrees on the need for a public inquiry into the construction industry.
This week, the associations representing Sûreté du Québec officers and crown prosecutors demolished the government's flimsy argument that conventional law enforcement is adequate and should not have to wait for the conclusion of an inquiry.
The only organization that has sided with the government so far is FTQ Construction - although in fairness, it should be mentioned that we have yet to hear officially from the Mafia and the Hell's Angels, which might also have an interest in the question.
Time cannot help but be a more useful ally to Charest than the FTQ's construction unions, given the reputation with public opinion that they have acquired over the years.
The holding of an earlier construction inquiry in the mid-1970s was prompted when an FTQ union business agent named Yvon Duhamel singlehandedly delayed construction of the James Bay hydroelectric project by driving a bulldozer into a generator on the work site.
And only three weeks ago, an FTQ construction-union delegate was among those arrested in an alleged money-laundering scheme in the construction industry.
In the short term, time appears to be the government's enemy rather than its ally.
The longer the government holds out against an inquiry with the power to seize evidence and compel witnesses to testify, the more it looks as though the Liberals have something to hide - namely, connections with contributors involved in bid-rigging on public-works contracts or other dishonest practices.
This week, there was a flurry of disclosures about generous contributions to the Liberals and other parties from officers of companies that continued to receive government contracts even after being convicted of bid-rigging.
But for the Liberals, the good thing about the short term is that it's short.
Under the new legislative calendar introduced this fall, the National Assembly is to adjourn for its winter recess at the end of next week. As the fall political season ends and the holidays approach, the voters will turn their attention away from scandals. And the opposition parties will be deprived of their best platform until the session resumes in February.
Of course, it's possible that cross-checking by the opposition and the media of court records, company directories and contributors' lists will continue to rake up fresh muck to spatter the Liberals.
But no matter how much of it remains to be discovered in public records, it's probably less than would be turned up by an inquiry with subpoena powers that the opposition and the media don't have.
It would also probably come out sooner, since an inquiry commission would probably take at least a year to conduct public hearings and produce its report.
And for the Liberals, the sooner, the better.
If governing parties are to receive bad news, they prefer to receive it in the first half of their term, so that the voters have time to get over it before the next election. As Sir John A. said, "myself and time . . . "
That's why governments try to get any unpopular measures out of the way in the first two years of their term.
And that's why Charest called the last election a year ago, so that the impact of the recession would be felt after he obtained a majority in the Assembly and a new, four-year term.
He had his eye on the calendar then. And he has his eye on it now.