For those who love the idea of proportional representation – and those who don’t – recent negotiations and compromises between the NDP and the Greens about what is and isn’t in the B.C. budget update provide a window on just how this kind of government could work in the future.
It’s fair to say that what isn’t in the recent “mini” budget has been getting at least as much attention as what is. Notably absent are $10/day child care and a $400 renters’ rebate, both promised by the NDP.
This week, Green Party leader Andrew Weaver caught some flak for saying part of the reason for those omissions is that campaign promises were “irrelevant.”
It was a poor choice of words, not likely to win him fans among voters.
But it underscored the reality that as nobody “won” the provincial election, the NDP is not in a position to fulfill all their promises without agreement from the Greens.
Neither the NDP nor the Green leaders have an interest in quickly ending their bromance. The NDP won’t want to end the deal unless they believe a majority is within their grasp. For the Greens, getting to a referendum on electoral reform – promised for a year from now – is crucial.
When it’s time to vote on that, consider how the current arrangement between the NDP and the Greens is playing out in practice.
If we have a truly proportional legislature, majority governments are likely a thing of the past. Only two governments have captured 51 per cent or more of the vote since 1945.
We could be witnessing a relatively rare dry run of the kinds of jockeying and compromise likely to be part of any post-pro-rep world.
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