WHEN YOU’RE COVERING POLITICS, there is a telltale sign that you are doing a good job keeping your coverage fair and balanced: if partisans on both sides of the aisle are accusing you of being in the bag for the other side.
Well, Rob Shaw and Richard Zussman have done one better with A Matter of Confidence.
In addition to criticism, their excellent new book on the events leading up to the historic 2017 provincial election is receiving plaudits from supporters of all three major BC political parties.
That’s almost unheard of, but it’s warranted for a book that took the perfect approach to recording a first draft of history.
First, it’s comprehensive.
Shaw and Zussman interviewed upwards of 70 people as part of their research, leaving no stone unturned.
They spoke to politicians, advisors, ministerial workers and observers.
That wealth of information allowed the two to make as detailed an account as possible of each event that set the stage for the post-election showdown last spring.
Every angle is fully explored.
Second, the book is highly probing.
Shaw and Zussman uncover a wealth of behind-the-scenes nuggets that haven’t seen the light of day until now.
This includes the fact that an NDP campaign pledge to drop tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges was dreamt up just a few hours before it was announced.
That pledge is considered a key factor that turned several swing ridings to the NDP’s favour, putting the party in position to form a minority government.
Another gem is the description of a Green MLA who was so angry at the former Liberal government, she basically torpedoed any chance that the Greens would work with the Liberals in a minority government situation.
And, even if it’s a term not normally associated with political books, it’s exciting.
The authors jumped at the chance to interview politicians when the sting of the defeat and the joy of victory were still fresh.
The pages pulse with emotion.
There is devotion and betrayal and everything in between.
It truly is a page-turner.
British Columbians know this province’s politics are several degrees more unpredictable and engrossing than those of all other provinces combined, and there aren’t nearly enough books about it.
In A Matter of Confidence, Rob Shaw and Richard Zussman have literally written history, and it’s a story that will be read by generations of political watchers for years to come.
