Wilkinson must unite Liberals
Selection of shadow cabinet first key hurdle
Andrew Wilkinson’s first job as the new party leader of the BC Liberals is to unite his party. That’s often easier said than done.
The party, clearly, is fractured at the moment based on the five ballots it took to decide on Christy Clark’s successor.
On paper, Wilkinson is a great leader. He’s a Rhodes Scholar. Before entering politics, he was both a lawyer and medical doctor. With B.C. having an aging population, nowhere more obvious than the Okanagan, health-care is clearly a top-three issue for most residents.
Even though unsuccessful candidates say they will rally for the common good of the party, hard feelings from statements said on the campaign stage often take time to get over.
A leadership race is good when it creates excitement and tons of positive and free publicity for a political party. But when it’s not a slam dunk, it can be concerning.
The ballot system is a tad confusing for some. Gone are the days of the convention where the leadership race was more like a carnival.
Drawing comparisons, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh recently beat three other challengers on the first ballot. John Horgan won the B.C. NDP leadership by acclamation.
Justin Trudeau won his party’s leadership in 2013 with an astronomical 79 per cent of the delegate vote. These parties were clearly united behind their leader.
The first indication of whether Wilkinson can play peacemaker will be who he names to his shadow cabinet and to what positions. Obviously, some people will be unhappy, others ecstatic.
Where will those who didn’t support Wilkinson — Kelowna-Mission MLA Steve Thomson, for one — fit it? Where will those who remained neutral — MLAs such as Penticton’s Dan Ashton — fit in? The next wave is coming. Wilkinson, to be successful in the next election, will have to appeal to those in the centre and left of centre if he’s able to defeat the NDP-Green coalition.
He needs to have a credible attack against John Horgan. For those who choose not to run again, he needs to offer voters credible local candidates.
The Kelowna West byelection could be a good litmus test to gauge voter satisfaction.
Get ready. The next three years will be even hotter than usual in B.C. politics.