Does Terry Lake have a political death wish?

To the casual observer, it might seem that Terry Lake is a) actively engaged in political suicide, or b) preparing to vacate the B.C. Liberal party, which would bring him back to a).

Suicide brings on many changes, especially political suicide, and I don’t think he’s quite ready for that — he’s too ambitious.

Yet, on the face of it, it might appear that way. First there was his gaffe a couple of weeks ago when he suggested the anti-HST petition might be rejected as invalid. Then he started this week by speculating the HST might be lowered after awhile, sometime in the second half of 2012. That prompted NDP House Leader Mike Farnworth to characterize it as indicative of panic in the Liberal backbenches.

“I am not surprised that you’re getting some people saying one thing and others saying another thing because, quite frankly, they’re looking at an electoral disaster and they know it. I think it reflects the disarray in the Liberal party,” he said.

Premier Gordon Campbell wouldn’t confirm Lake’s speculation on lowering the hated tax. In fact, he said the HST could actually go up.

Wednesday, the Globe and Mail quoted Campbell further on that possibility. “If Terry is saying there’s a choice, he’s right,” said Campbell. “There will be choices. You could choose to raise it and dramatically reduce income taxes. You could choose to reduce it. Those are choices any government will face.”

And Finance Minister Colin Hanse said cutting the HST by even one percentage point would take $750 million out of revenues that would have to be covered some other way.

So what is Lake, once touted as a surefire bet for a cabinet job within his first term, up to? I dunno.