As we write this, we don’t know who the winners and losers are in this provincial election. But we do know some things for sure. And we do hope for others.
If the B.C. Liberals retain the government – majority or minority – we hope they’ve heard the unease of many in B.C. who feel the government has been a winner-take-all kind of game. It wouldn’t hurt the Liberals to take a moment and ponder what policies the other two parties support and consider, just consider, that perhaps more than 50 per cent of voters would like to see some recognition that their principles and policies matter in B.C. We don’t expect the Liberals to backtrack on LNG, Site C or Kinder Morgan – they’ve dug those trenches pretty deep.
But there’s still a lot of wiggle room where transit is concerned in the Lower Mainland, and it would be a big step towards reconciliation if the Liberals opened up a new honest, non-partisan discussion on the issue.
Given the rather bare-fisted campaign, we understand there’ll be wounds to lick and grudges to carry, but all parties must surely recognize that fostering a continuing campaign/war model is neither good for B.C. nor good for democracy. It’s certainly one of the reasons that more voters are saying they are sick of politicians of any stripe.
If the NDP form the next government, we have the same advice for them. To be sure, they’ve run on several promises they must institute.
If they don’t keep those promises, they’ll lose voter trust and be pummelled (rightly so) by the media. But they need to recognize that rebalancing the political landscape in a hurry may leave them with the same problems that the Liberals have, albeit on the other end of the spectrum.
The Greens are, in many ways, in a win-win position. They have a chance to look like mediators, leaders and principled politicians in what could be a very rancorous legislature. We hope Andrew Weaver’s display of pugnacious campaigning was just that – a way to show that he could punch with the big guys, and that it wasn’t a model for how he will deal with issues or people in the legislature.
No matter who is elected, we hope they remember they are governing for all of the folks in B.C. – not just the one’s who’ve made it, not just the struggling folks, not just their own friends and supporters.
We think we can safely assume that every voter in B.C. wants government to be more transparent and more accessible and more representative, no matter who is elected.
Let’s hope that whoever wins governs with honesty, wisdom and compassion.
