It appears this province is going to get a new government and guess what: the sky will not fall and the sun will still come out (well, occasionally).
There seems to be a lot of nervous handwringing going on as the B.C. Liberals lurch toward being sent to the penalty box for an indeterminate period, and the New Democrats move ever closer to forming a government in this province for the first time in more than 16 years.
But chill everyone. We’re about to experience (I’m assuming Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon will ask NDP leader John Horgan to form government when the B.C. Liberals lose a confidence vote in the house) what most provinces experience with far more regularity: a change in who gets to run the province.
And it can be argued this is a healthy thing for our democracy. A party that remains so long in power can get lazy, unimaginative, and arrogant and out of touch. All these things could describe the B.C. Liberals right now.
Proof that there’s not much left in the gas tank was last week’s bizarre throne speech, which was a hodgepodge list of NDP and B.C. Green Party promises, with little indication it had anything to do with what the B.C. Liberals had attached importance to for those 16 years.
It had an air of desperation about it, not because it was designed to gain a last second stay of execution by convincing a Green MLA or two to vote for the speech, but because the B.C. Liberals wanted a chance to show they had learned some hard lessons about issues that tripped them up just short of the goal line on election day.
This deathbed repentance seemed to fall flat with pretty much everyone. There seems to a consensus building out there that the B.C. Liberals need to go to their room for a time-out.
Of course, this speech could return as the foundation of the B.C. Liberals’ next election platform. Certainly, some of the new proposed policies – major expansion to daycare, more transit, scrapping bridge tolls, making education a bigger priority, etc. – will undoubtedly prove popular to the voters in the riding-rich suburbs of Metro Vancouver.
But those same voters will undoubtedly be confused when they see all three parties proposing pretty much the exact same policies when it comes to social reforms come the next campaign.
Now, the B.C. Liberals could change their tune, particularly if Christy Clark doesn’t survive as leader. The party is a coalition of liberals and conservatives, and Clark’s throne speech made a hard left turn when it comes to government spending.
Some have mused her sudden lurch to the left will cause the coalition to break apart. I don’t think it will, as the one thing that unites even hard-core conservatives with liberals and trumps any concerns about spending is their mutual loathing of the prospect of an NDP government.
But how long Clark can hang on as leader is unclear. I suspect she has until next spring to prove she’s reconnected with voters in key areas such as Surrey, Tri-Cities and North Vancouver (keep in mind she still led her party to the most seats and most votes in the election).
Still, a new leader from the conservative side of the party may have different priorities than spending $1 billion on day care. But the conservative wing is no doubt pleased that even with that throne speech, the B.C. Liberals remain committed to building the Site C dam, twinning the Kinder Morgan pipeline and backing an LNG industry.
It’s also unclear how long the merry NDP-Green alliance will be able to govern with that single-seat majority that will require the Speaker to play a far more partisan role than at any time in B.C. history. But it should be able to last at least into next year, unless passing legislation becomes so difficult that it paralyzes the legislature and a dissolution of the house is required.
But they deserve a chance to make things work and try out some new ideas. If they falter, or prove to be unpopular, I suspect the chance to change government yet again in this province will come much sooner than later.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global B.C.
