B.C. Wakes Up in Political Twilight Zone

Premier Gordon Campbell introduced the hated HST, then a 15 per cent income tax cut. Then he repealed the cut. And then he resigned, because no one could figure out what he was doing and everybody dislikes him.

There is now a “growing concern in [B.C.] that recent events are a harbinger of dark times,” writes the Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason, “of a return to an 18-year epoch in the province’s political history defined by turmoil and which made B.C. a running, eye-rolling joke on the national stage.” Mason gives a good rundown of that wacky era when a series of scandals ousted successive premiers and imploded the Social Credit Party, and that only ended in 2001 when Campbell was elected. The opposition NDP is also now defying common sense by reducing to infighting instead of capitalizing on the Liberals’ demise. “This is certainly B.C. politics at its best, or worst, depending on your view of such things,” writes Mason.

The Victoria Times Colonist suggests B.C.’s descent into a political farce could be avoided if Gordon Campbell stepped down immediately, instead of waiting until February as planned. His refusal to leave means that his potential successors will have to define their own agendas while still appearing to stay loyal to him, and will hamper the Liberals’ ability to prepare for the upcoming HST referendum and deal with attempts to recall several Liberal MLAs. “British Columbians can look forward to a year of confusion and mixed messages from the government,” writes the paper, unless Campbell goes.

“I cannot recall more clueless wandering from one bad decision to another — ever — in all the years I have covered Canadian politics,” writes the National Post’s Lorne Gunter, who speculates that if Canada was ever to produce a Tea Party movement, it would come from B.C. “[If] West Coasters don't start an anti-tax revolt, then we'll have proof that Canadians just aren't the revolting kind.” Gunter seems not to appreciate that such a revolt has basically already happened, just without the Palin-esque jingoism that has defined the U.S. Tea Party. Over 700,000 people signed a petition to scrap the HST and forced the government to call a binding referendum on the issue next spring, toppling Campbell in the process. Apparently due process is revolution, Canada-style.