And so, following a close election, a spurned attempt at a political coalition, a hall of mirrors throne speech and an entreaty to the Lt. Governor to send British Columbians back to the polls, this week Premier Christy Clark finally folded her cards, announcing she is quitting B.C. politics.
While we won’t forget Clark’s last weeks in power, her six years as premier will be her lasting legacy. On the plus side, Clark presided over a booming economy. She gave us the politics of relentless optimism.
But much of that appeared to be fuelled by a few industries, like real estate. Some, like the LNG bonanza, proved imaginary. Many average people failed to see the economic largesse trickling down to their own lives, and Clark appeared to turn a blind eye to many legitimate social issues.
It was only at the tail end of a buying spree that Clark introduced the foreign homebuyers tax in a bid to bring B.C.’s real estate market back from orbit.
She fought teachers all the way to a loss in the Supreme Court of Canada. We needed Clark’s leadership on transit; instead she subjected improvements to a plebiscite. But while her policies can be reversed, we worry that Clark’s impact on political debate may be permanent. Clark’s soundbite style was carefully scripted and immensely partisan. Under her leadership, her party appeared to be in permanent campaign mode.
Public life can certainly be gruelling and we wish Clark well in her post-politics life. We plan to toast her on Family Day.
We also hope that whoever serves as her successor as Liberal leader will remember that while economic issues are huge, emphasis on those can’t be to the exclusion of other concerns. And that governing is just as important as winning.
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