FACE TO FACE: Can Christy Clark and the BC Liberals still win the May election?
It's a bit soon to compare Premier Christy Clark's chances for winning May's election to that of a snowball surviving Hell.
Sure, it looks bad. The media is piling on the latest scandals: Ethnic-gate and, now, government "swing teams" that spent public money to boost BC Liberal fortunes in swing ridings. Ouch!
And it's true that regimes in B.C. seem to have a limited shelf life - four years for NDP governments and 10 plus for right-wing coalitions.
And although it seems this particular right-wing coalition has passed its best before expiration date, we can't consign Premier Clark to the political scrap heap just yet.
My colleague underestimates the ability of the BC Liberals to weather political storms. They have weathered dozens of snafus and scandals over 12 years, any one of which would have mortally wounded other premiers in mere days.
BC Liberals have survived a drunk driving premier, the ripping up of public service contracts, broken promises to halt the proliferation of casino gambling and to not sell BC Rail, not to mention the HST debacle and countless other dishonesties. And, yet, nothing has stuck.
Former NDP premier Glen Clark's transgressions, though real and serious, were jaywalking compared to former BC Liberal premier Gordon Campbell's and, yet, Mr. Campbell lives in a mansion in London with the Order of B.C. on his wall while hate for Mr. Clark can be viscerally resurrected with the mere mention of "Fast Ferries."
If Premier Clark can survive the knives of her party, she could still win May's election as long as the right-wing power coalition revives itself, as it has in the past.
They crucified Dave Barrett in one term, calling him a Communist for passing the Land Commission Act and starting ICBC.
They forced Mike Harcourt to resign over "Bingo-gate," which wouldn't even make the BC Liberal top 10 scandals list.
The RCMP took a helicopter to a get a vacationing judge to issue a search warrant for Glen Clark's house. Then they contacted the media to make sure the raid made primetime TV.
History has shown that when Howe Street, big media and even the legal system get together against a premier or government, they are easily capable of a blitzkrieg that could bury Adrian Dix and turn Christy Clark into Joan of Arc.
Face to Face columnist Jim Nelson is a retired Tri-City teacher and principal who lives in Port Moody. He has contributed a number of columns on education-related issues to The Tri-City News.
