"Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart: the centre cannot hold;"
Watching the contortions of Gordon Campbell and the Liberal party this week, one can't help but think of Irish poet W.B. Yeats verse from in this case the ironically titled The Second Coming.
In the first cabinet meeting since unexpectedly announcing his resignation, Campbell in one fell swoop rescinded his promised 15% personal income tax cut and engineered the firing of dissident cabinet minister Bill Bennett.
The sycophants in cabinet and the spin doctors would have you believe it was their idea, since the Premier had left the room while the vote was taken, but that was a mere formality.
According to a Prince George man who was once approached to run for the Liberals, cabinet ministers are required to sign an "oath of allegiance" to Campbell that basically required them to resign if they ever disagreed with the Premier in public.
Whether that is true or not, it would certainly be in keeping with his management style and the iron fisted way in which he has governed BC for the past 9 years.
As the Liberal party and their leader stumble towards a February 26th Leadership Convention, where presumably a sacrificial lamb in the guise of a new leader will be offered up, the Party continues its death spiral.
After 4 more months of Campbell and the HST, along with the renege on the tax cut fresh in the minds of voters, a new leader will take over and like Harry Potter, wave his wand and make us fall in love with the "new" Liberal party. Bollocks.
Any talented leadership candidates like Carole Taylor or Diane Watts have wisely chosen to take a pass.
Candidates within the Party are tainted, so unless an interim leader is selected and empowered to clean up the mess by killing the HST and halting the ill conceived reorganization of key ministries, their fate is sealed.
At the same time this Party desperately needs an infusion of new ideas that can only come from vigorous debate and discussions via policy conferences, town hall meetings and one on ones with British Columbians.
Voters are weary of Campbell's "treat of the week" ideas and are anxious to as we say in the north "get it done".
"It"- is developing our resources to their fullest potential to the benefit of all citizens; it-is arriving at some acceptable accommodation with First Nations who in many cases seem prepared to sacrifice their future and ours by clinging to the past; it-is a sustainable healthcare system that establishes a minimum standard of care while allowing private healthcare a much larger role; it- is a school system that provides a quality education in a student instead of a teacher focused environment; it-is a justice system that promotes rehabilitation while placing the rights of the victims at the forefront.
There is an axiom in politics that opposition parties don't win, governments defeat themselves.
The next 6 months will determine whether the BC Liberal party can avoid that outcome.
