EDITORIAL – Merger of B.C. rightwing parties intriguing, but it won’t happen

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

ONE OF THE MORE intriguing rumours flying around media circles is that serious behind-the-scenes discussions are going on about a merger between BC United and the BC Conservatives in time for the provincial election.

None other than former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell has, according to one version of the scenario, been asked to mediate merger negotiations between the two parties.

The leader of the new party would allegedly be popular Port Coquitlam mayor Brad West. BC United leader Kevin Falcon and BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad, of course, would both have to be willing to step down.

West’s response is that he intends to continue being “the best mayor I can be” and “If that ever changes, you’ll hear from me!”

Which means, no, but maybe not no forever, and he doesn’t want to talk about it just now.

Both Rustad and Falcon seem to rule out a merger of any kind right now, though whatever is going on behind closed doors might be a different conversation. What they seem to be saying is, keep the door open but it’s not likely to amount to much in the immediate future.

Those promoting the idea undoubtedly have done some basic arithmetic. Separate, neither of the two parties can defeat the NDP come October. Together, in theory at least, they could combine to beat the NDP’s 40 percent with their combined 47 per cent.

Theories are good but there’s a lot working against this one. For one thing, it’s hard to imagine Falcon and Rustad being willing to quit their leadership positions in order to work together, especially given their history.

Even if West were to decide this is his time, it’s not automatic that he would be hailed the conquering hero by a broad spectrum of B.C. voters. While he gets a lot of attention from Lower Mainland media, he’s not well-known beyond the Greater Vancouver area. Nobody up here is familiar with him. He’d have a steep hill to climb before he becomes a household name.

Then there’s the question of what to do about all those candidates, many of whom have been declared. Locally, BC United and BC Conservative candidates have been picked in both the Kamloops Central and Kamloops-North Thompson ridings.

In Todd Stone and Peter Milobar, BC United has two incumbents who have proven several times they can win. Would one or both step aside so their untested competitors Dennis Giesbrecht and Ward Stamer can go against the NDP?

But the greatest challenge of all would undoubtedly be reconciling the policies of the two parties. Despite moving further to the right, BC United is still far apart from the Conservatives on some fundamentals.

“I can’t merge with a party that has candidates that equate vaccinations with Marxism or apartheid,” says Falcon.

And all of these challenges would have to be overcome in, what, three months, in time for the campaign?

So, sure, an interesting idea born out of political opportunity rather than political values, but one that has no hope of becoming reality, at least not in this election cycle.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.