Login / RegisterEx-politician Gordon Wilson says Christy Clark could conceivably win by building big L Liberal party
Embattled B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark has a critical decision to make.
It’s one that may spell the difference between a victory or a crushing defeat in next year’s provincial election, according to former B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Wilson.
It’s choice whether to preserve the already splintered coalition of federal Conservatives and Liberals in the province that was held together by Clark’s predecessor, Gordon Campbell. Or to build what Wilson describes as the “Liberal option” for British Columbia.
“I would suspect that Christy is going to have to decide whether or not she’s going to try to patch together and hold together this coalition of Conservative-Liberal interests in British Columbia,” Wilson, who also served as an NDP cabinet minister, told the Straight in a recent phone interview.
“Or if she’s going to decide to do what many capital L liberals would like her to do—and that is actually build a Liberal option that denounces some of the issues that Campbell took on,” Wilson continued, “recruit aggressively people who are seen to be more centrist, more populist politicians, and advance an agenda that is unique and different, and enhance that agenda by tabling a budget that is very, very progressive [and] that really addresses the fact that we are facing extremely difficult economic times, both continentally and internationally."
“It would be an end to any notion of a coalition,” Wilson also said. “From my point of view, Christy Clark, when she took over the leadership, she had a very real opportunity to jettison off the Conservative element and build the Liberal option.”
By doing so, a new and truly Liberal party will capture the centre and left centre, undercutting the B.C. NDP, he added.
“It does allow Christy Clark to forge a new agenda,” Wilson stressed.
But Wilson also underscored that Clark is running out of time.
“I don’t see any indication that she’s doing anything other than simply riding out her term at this point,” he said.
Wilson also noted that with the exception of Shuswap MLA George Abbott, most of the members of Clark’s caucus who declared they are not running in 2013 are “people who would be comfortably sitting in a Conservative party".
“Unfortunately for Ms. Clark, what she’s done by trying to recapture this conservative element is that she has weakened her image among the public in terms of her being somebody new and different,” Wilson said.
Although Clark has consistently slipped in polls, Wilson believes that 2013 isn’t a done deal yet.
According to Wilson, there is still one person who could actually stop the B.C. NDP from achieving what now appears to be a smooth ride next year.
“The person who has still got the opportunity to do it—ironically as it might sound and people might think I’m smoking something funny...I think that Christy Clark still has the best opportunity if she plays her cards right, but she consistently doesn’t do that,” Wilson said. “It’s frustrating for people.”
Related article: Can Christy Clark beat back the B.C. Conservatives by taking a left turn?
The better option is for her to step down and the party find a leader with morals and good business sense to run this province well.
She is an opportunist who will do anything to keep her current job.
She has No Principals, No Ideals, No Vision, she is Just Scared Shitless, sitting in Gordon Campbell's Chair. She is just plain LOST.
Were she to try some kind of re-make, why would anyone believe a Single Word she would say.
She's Toast I tell-yah, Freaking Deep Fried, Twice Over-Easy and Very Well Done TOAST.
c--ya Christy. Thanks for coming out!
Gordon campbell tilted the party further and further right, irritating the centrists and true liberals. Myself included, many let their memberships lapse and stopped volunteering throughout the three terms as right wing policies were implemented. Things like raising user fees on parks and reducing forestry management, increasing raw log exports, refusing to deal with the sea lice problems in aquaculture, run of the river ipp projects left us true liberals annoyed as it seemed that everything was for sale.
Christy gave us hope of returning to the true sense of liberalism.
Unfortunately, she has spent most of her time trying to prove her conservative credentials and this has made the very people who got her the job sick to our stomachs. Insiders like me know why she was doing it and still beleive she has deep liberal roots, but her centrist credentials to the general public have lost all credibility. You cant spend a year going on about how conservative you are and then suddenly flip a switch and say you are really a liberal, it is just not beleiveable.
Christy had a great chance to rebuild the party but her tactical advisors made aggregious tactical error after error and blew it. Maybe wilson will re enter politics and run for the leadership after next years electoral wipeout.
I myself expressed serious reservations with the drift to te right while the ndp took over the centre that we vacated and the idiots broke the rules to push me off the board. in my riding there hasnt been a rule in the bcl constitution that these right wing goons havent broken that they have touched. This is why chad pederson resigned, this was enabled from powers at the top.
Miguel
I never really used care all that much about politics, but Gordon Campbell woke me up and made me HATE him and everyone associated with him. Ill vote against anyone who stood by his side when he tried to ram the HST down our throats, and ill advise as many people as possible to do the same.
With respect to his argument, he's so wrong it's a joke.
Christy Clark is a moron. Period, full stop. She sowed that as a minister. She showed that as a talk show host. And for well over a year, she is showing is that as the unelected premier of BC. Take us all out of our misery, please!!
The rising dollar is only a indication of money borrowed as lower interest rates weaken the dollar and credit blows it up. The BC LIberals have hurt families and business while handing out tax dollars to CEO's like they where needys beggars on the street. Falcon was on the books and rumor is he penciled things in. Yes, the economy which is in bigger trouble than you think because of Liberal mismanagement and corruption isn't being talked about because the media finds government useful and government has been stuck on what to do with media and still have its cake..
The number one city to live as the story goes and health scare gets a ten when in truth the stats show immigrants arriving from other countries have the highest rate of illness once moving to BC.
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