After the final votes were counted, B.C.’s long-running political drama became an episode of The Bachelor this week. All eyes were on who would win the heart – by which we mean votes – of political ingénues, the Greens. Suddenly the Greens were the most popular kid in town, courted by the Liberals and NDP in a dizzying round of negotiations.
Despite being far apart on key policy issues, the Liberals harboured hope that Christy Clark’s political charm would win the day for them, especially given some nasty jabs between the NDP and Greens during the campaign.
But then Andrew Weaver and John Horgan appeared at a rugby game together, seeming very at ease in each other’s company. By Monday the two appeared at a joint press conference to announce they had sealed the deal. Weaver let a final phone call from Clark go to voice mail. Afterwards, texts were exchanged between Weaver and the now politically jilted premier.
It’s not you. It’s me.
Beneath the intrigue, it’s difficult to see how the Greens could have cut a deal with the Liberals and still maintained credibility with their core supporters. While Weaver had worked with the Liberals on some issues in the past, none could be considered make-or-break policy issues – unless you put high heels in the workplace in that category. For the Greens, while the Liberals were an intriguing temptation, the NDP is the party next door that they’ve grown up with. At the end of the day the two have more shared values.
Whether the deal struck this week is the beginning of a beautiful friendship or a loveless marriage of convenience, only time will tell.
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