Skip to content

EDITORIAL: Clark’s pursuit of power knows no bounds

Recent days have provided British Columbians with a clear display of what the raw pursuit of political power looks like.
web1_20170628-BPD-Clark-house-throne-june17-BCG

Recent days have provided British Columbians with a clear display of what the raw pursuit of political power looks like.

The recent speech from the throne from the BC Liberals co-opted a host of NDP promises that Premier Christy Clark said would devastate the provincial economy and downgrade B.C.’s credit rating during the election campaign only a few weeks earlier.

Whether it was an increase to the rates for income assistance, more investments in affordable housing, an end to tolls on Metro Vancouver bridges or a referendum on changing B.C.’s election system, Clark’s Liberals were against them before they were for them. What a difference a day makes, or more precisely, what a difference the quest for political survival can make. There are no ideological standards or policy ideals that aren’t worth trading for another year, another month, another week in power.

NDP leader John Horgan and the Green Party’s Andrew Weaver were not persuaded, rejecting the chameleon-like throne speech in a non-confidence vote.

But Clark was not satisfied with simply painting herself as another opportunistic politician. She doubled down on her quest to cling to power by attempting to undermine the independence of the lieutenant-governor’s office, looking to persuade Judith Guichon to cast her reputation aside and throw in her lot with the BC Liberals, despite what the province’s voters or parliamentary tradition might have to say about it.

Clark suggested that instead of allowing the NDP and Greens a chance to test their newfound alliance, the lieutenant-governor would be better off to send British Columbians back to the polls kicking and screaming.

There is no doubt Premier Horgan will face severe challenges in trying to govern a legislature that is divided 44-43 along party lines. But elections have consequences, and a razor-thin majority is one of the consequences Horgan and Weaver must navigate as long as their alliance holds. Christy Clark, however, seems unwilling to accept the consequences that relegates the BC Liberals to opposition benches for the first time in a generation.