Are the B.C. Liberals committing public hara-kiri with their throne speech?

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      Premier Christy Clark is doing something completely in character.

      She's ripping off the B.C. NDP platform, just as she did before the 2013 provincial election.

      The B.C. Liberals have already indicated that they want to raise welfare rates by $100 per month for single employables, introduce a poverty-reduction plan, and spend $1 billion on childcare spaces.

      They also plan on indexing disability rates and scrapping the requirement to hold a referendum on rapid-transit expenditures. 

      In addition, Clark said that her party wants to ban corporate and union donations, which she steadfastly opposed during her six-year term as premier.

      It's likely that all of these NDP promises will be announced in today's B.C. Liberal government throne speech.

      This morning on CBC Radio, NDP Leader John Horgan said that prior to the election Clark was mocking and ridiculing progressive policies that she now claims to be embracing.

      "It's not real," Horgan said. "She's doing it for herself, not for the people she purports to represent."

      NDP Leader John Horgan rejects claims by the B.C. Liberals that their policy reversal is a sign that they're listening to the public.

      Last month, 43 B.C. Liberal MLAs were elected, which was one shy of 44 elected by the NDP and B.C. Greens. The 44 opposition MLAs are inevitably going to bring about the downfall of the Clark government in a nonconfidence vote.

      It's worth noting that prior to the 2013 election, the B.C. Liberals also copied NDP promises by raising corporate taxes and the minimum wage.

      At that time, the B.C. Liberals also introduced a short-term surtax on high-income earners after this was pledged by then NDP leader Adrian Dix.

      Two years after the election, the B.C. Liberals eliminated this surtax on those who collected the highest salaries in the province. That move reduced government revenues by about $250 million per year.

      The big issue is trust

      No matter what political acrobatics Clark is performing now, it's still not going to address the central issue dogging her. And that is the public's lack of trust in her and the B.C. Liberals after 16 years in power.

      A recent Angus Reid Institute poll showed that most respondents wanted Christy Clark to step down as B.C. Liberal leader.

      Earlier this year, B.C. Liberal supporters were flooding the airwaves with ads describing Horgan as "SayAnythingJohn". But the reality is that the province is currently governed by SayAnythingChristy.

      A recent Angus Reid Institute poll of British Columbians showed that 62 percent felt that Clark should resign as leader of the B.C. Liberals. Among respondents who identified themselves as B.C. Liberal supporters, 32 percent thought she should quit as party leader.

      The B.C. Liberals papered over their leadership problem during the election campaign by having cabinet ministers such as Andrew Wilkinson and Mike de Jong make major announcements. 

      But the more that Clark occupies the spotlight, the more damaging it's going to be for the B.C. Liberal brand over the longer term. Party members have good reason to cringe because Clark will be centre-stage now that the B.C. legislature is about to start a new session.

      A similar phenomenon occurred with another B.C. ruling party, Social Credit, under its last elected premier, Bill Vander Zalm. He doggedly remained in office despite being disliked by a majority of voters who didn't trust him. Vander Zalm stubbornly dragged his party down with him.

      Former premier Bill Vander Zalm was a perpetually smiling political charmer who led the Social Credit party down the rabbit hole.
      Stephen Hui

      Similarly, Republican president Richard Nixon outlasted his welcome. He lost trust but hung on as long as he could, severely damaging his party.

      When former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney lost the trust of voters, he also stayed too long. His party paid a huge price, being reduced to two seats in Parliament in the 1993 election.

      Elected officials who remained loyal to Vander Zalm, Nixon, and Mulroney suffered long-term career damage.

      Surely, there are B.C. Liberals bright enough to realize that Clark's insistence on remaining in power is going to tarnish their party.

      But will any of them have the guts to voice these concerns publicly? Not likely. At least not this week.

      Former NDP premier Mike Harcourt knew when the jig was up.

      There are political leaders who are savvy enough to quit early enough for their party to regroup and retain power.

      Former Socred premier Bill Bennett left suddenly, enabling his party to win the 1986 election. The same is true of former NDP premier Mike Harcourt, whose party was reelected in 1996.

      But so far, SayAnythingChristy is showing signs of being more in the mould of a Vander Zalm, Nixon, and Mulroney. 

      That means the B.C. Liberals had better prepare for lengthy stay in the political wilderness.

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