EDITORIAL – Musical chairs in B.C. politics is making everybody dizzy

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

THERE’S A TERM for what’s going on in B.C. politics right now — shit show.

Sorry, but it has to be said. Premier David Eby has called an election for Oct. 24. He has a plan to deal with Donald Trump. We’ll stand strong, diversify, build. We need a strong new government to do that, he says.

If you believe that as the reason he’s called an election, I have a bridge to sell you. Oh, wait, sorry, the bridge burned down and Eby hasn’t come through with his promise to rebuild it. Plain fact is, a provincial election right now is totally unnecessary, and unwelcome.

No, this is pure political opportunism. It’s been only two years since the last election but as he watched the trainwreck going on within the opposition parties, he couldn’t resist taking advantage.

And how about those opposition parties? For a couple of weeks — and, actually, long before that — the BC Conservatives were in total chaos. MLAs were jumping ship on an almost daily basis, seeking to get away from leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. With Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar leading the way, they coalesced into a new party, then joined CentreBC with Milobar as the leader.

Today, it’s all different. With Findlay gone as leader, most of the defectors have suddenly returned to the Conservative fold, including Milobar.

Let’s recap Milobar’s allegiances. He began as a BC Liberal. The Liberals became BC United. When that party folded its tent, Milobar leaped easily to the BC Conservatives, a party he had previously had no use for. After he lost the leadership race, he quit and sat briefly as an independent before he announced he’d start a new party. The party with no name was quickly abandoned in favour of taking over the fledgling CentreBC as its leader.

And today? He and his temporarily ex-Conservative followers are suddenly back with the BC Conservatives, without, apparently, giving CentreBC the courtesy of proper warning. Only Elenore Sturko will stay out of the Conservatives, and succeed Milobar as CentreBC leader. Meanwhile, Brent Chapman, who happens to be married to Findlay, has left the BC Conservatives and joined OneBC. Findlay still intends to seek a seat as a Conservative.

So Milobar, whose star seemed definitely on the rise, is once again a member — and not the leader — of a party that has proven itself utterly incapable of agreeing on a clear message, but highly adept at infighting. Such unparalleled willingness to switch political suits doesn’t sit well.

If this exercise proves nothing else, it’s that provincial politics is at least as much about opportunism as it is about principles.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, writes for the Kamloops Chronicle and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and was a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. 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.