CKNW Editorial
for July 21, 1999

Well, now,  guess we know who's going to be in Mr Clark's next government don't we? The Hon Dale Lovick will continue to double dip along with hiswife and newcomers will include the about to be Honourable Helmut Giesbrecht and the once again Honourable Joan Smallwood. A sure path to that Honourable is sycophantic sucking up to the Premier in his moment of truth and these three have trouble restoring their noses to their natural positions.

We also know that Premier Clark is in such a massive state of denial that he is quite prepared to risk his party’s future for his own ego and ambitions. He has made national fools of us as a province and is quite prepared to go on doing so.

The premier's call for statements of loyalty is an interesting one for it hits everyone playing this political crap game they're calling the NDP government these days. Everyone has a dream, namely to be in or stay in cabinet. This will prompt those who might get in or stay in cabinet if they kiss Mr Clark's backside to bleat their support. It will also force those who know that they won't be in any cabinet led by other than Glen Clark to make their support known. Everyone else is in one of four categories... they either want the job, want to support the winner, or at worst have their heads well under cover while the fighting goes on or are prepared to go down with Glen Clark's ship.

In the cabinet shuffle to come there is one spot to watch with care. If Ujjal Dosanjh isn't Attorney-General after the smoke clears the battle will be on. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Mr Dosanjh refuses to accept another post just as Grace McCarthy refused a change under Bill Vander Zalm.

There will be a leadership contest. If it happens after the next election, it will be relatively unimportant who wins. But lets look at the situation on the assumption that the party will finally force Clark out.

It's very hard for an outsider to the New Democratic Party to know where the battle lines will be drawn. I don't believe that Joy McPhail wouldn't fight for the top job, given the chance, but I may be wrong. She has said on occasion that she doesn't want it but politicians have been known to fudge their words on issues like this. One thing I think you can take as a given is that she will have a lot to say about who will be premier and, if she has anything to say about it, it sure as hell won't be Gordon Wilson.

What happens, of course, depends upon what the Premier does.

If he flat out resigns, as Vander Zalm was forced to do, the next premier will be selected, if only on an interim basis, by caucus. Assuming that the selection is not bound to renounce ambitions to run when the convention sits, he or she will have a pretty big leg up on those who do run. That's the Rita Johnston scenario. If the Premier announces his intention to resign after a leadership convention - as did Bill Bennett and Mike Harcourt – it will be very interesting.

Gordon Wilson gives the NDP immediate credibility with the right wing of the NDP but will not be taken so kindly by the main body of the party which felt the lash of Wilson's words when he was on the benches opposite.

Joy McPhail helps get the women's vote and does give off a rare, for the NDP, aura of competence. Everyone seems to know that she only brought in this year's huge deficit because of the Premier and Tom Gunton and that this contributed to her timely departure. How much her strong ties to Organized labour will help or hinder is hard to say but it should help in a party where unions have so much influence.

Ujjal Dosanjh is seen as a very decent and honourable man which you wouldn't think all that important a consideration in politics but given how he looks compared to so many of his colleagues this is a big plus. That he doesn't like Moe Sihota helps - as it helps Ms McPhail - and that he told former Premier Barrett to get stuffed is much in his favour.

Is the province ready for an Indo-Canadian premier? That may not even be a factor if, as I suspect, the public would throw out the NDP no matter who the premier was. But I honestly don't think race will be a factor.

The cabinet shuffle, when it comes, will tell us a lot about who will and who won't lead the NDP as it marches to its own rendez-vous with Armageddon and, instead of appeasing the forces against Mr Clark is far more likely to exacerbate his troubles. And he’s the only one in the entire province that doesn’t recognize that.