Ok, So It Wasn't a TOTAL Wipe-Out ...
... But a Win's a Win!
Well, in a result that brightened my mood at least somewhat, the BC Liberals were re-elected last night.
It wasn't the rout that I, quite honestly, had hoped for, and there is no doubt that the NDP has the wind back in its sails. I honestly did not follow this campaign as closely as ones previous, but as near as I can tell, the NDP tacked towards the centre somewhat - relatively speaking, of course. If so, it appears that the gesture worked. Well, if an invigorated opposition keeps the BC Liberals honest, there are worse things that could happen.
But still and all, despite engaging in some radical steps early in their mandate (shades of the Common Sense Revolution in Ontario), the Liberals were re-elected, with at least some representation in every region, according to this summary. Odds are good that you already know that the BC Liberals are not the kissing cousins of Paul Martin's crew, but just in case you're reading this from abroad (hey, it's possible!), in BC politics tend to be polarised between one centre-left coalition (the NDP) and one centre-right coalition (formerly Social Credit, now the BC Liberals), although please note that this is a broad generalisation, especially with the BC Green Party getting almost 10% of the vote. In this case, the centre-right crew was re-elected, albeit with a smaller majority.
I was disappointed to see that the "STV" referendum was apparently defeated. It isn't that I felt passionately about STV, but it would have been interesting to see it applied in BC, so that Canadians in general could evaluate it and decide if it, or something like it, should be applied nationally.
Anyway, like I said in a previous post, I spent 3 very good years in Vancouver, and I still have some good friends out there. All in all, the re-election of the BC Libs is good for the province, and sets a good national example.
And hey, anything that distracted me - however briefly - from the highjinx of the "Blonde Ambition" tour can't be all bad.
More later.
posted by Jason Hickman @ 8:42 a.m.
2 comments
2 Comments:
Since you lived in BC perhaps you could explain it to a simple Ontarian like myself. Where is the Conservative/Progressive Conservative party in that province? Provincially it's NDP/Libs/Green right?
For all practical purposes, yes, the only "players" are the NDP, the GP and the BC Libs.
Believe it or not, however, there is a BC Conservative Party. It is the direct descendant of the party that last governed BC in the days before Social Credit. It is very small and hasn't come close to electing anyone in a long time (since the 70's, I think).
For a while, when I was annoyed at Gordon Campbell and the BC Libs, I joined the Party and took part in some of its activities. The people who came out to its meetings, etc. were dedicated, but people weren't exactly beating down the doors to get in.
For a good long time, the BC Conservatives were linked to the federal PC Party. Once, in (I think) early '96, I was at one of their joint conventions. By this time, hardly any of the federal Tories were still involved in the provincial party; most had long since decamped to Social Credit, and then the BC Libs. Still, Jean Charest, who was in town to attend, had to briefly make nice with the leader of the BC Conservatives (I think Charest gave him a quick "good luck" in his keynote address).
Anyway, people realised that the link between the parties was artificial at best, and it was dissolved shortly thereafter. Still, the BC Conservatives went on, and they ran 6 or 7 candidates in last night's election.
So there you go. Bet you're sorry you asked!
- Jason.
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