Credit: CFJC Today
ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: If Horgan calls a snap election, he doesn’t deserve to win

Sep 16, 2020 | 4:46 AM

KAMLOOPS — SPECULATION IS RAMPANT that Premier John Horgan will announce a provincial election tomorrow. It might just be the media feeding off each other but it certainly feels like a possibility.

Only a couple of weeks ago I was predicting that Horgan wouldn’t be so foolish, but let’s look at the implications of an early election.

He doesn’t have to face a provincial vote for another year, so why would he pull the trigger now? Because, the pundits say, he’s so far ahead in public opinion surveys that even if there was a backlash against an election he has enough cushion to get a comfortable majority.

New Brunswick went to the polls this week and handed the incumbent minority government of Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs a fresh majority. Obviously, a snap election in the middle of the pandemic wasn’t a concern for voters there.

The thinking goes that this will embolden Horgan to follow suit.

A majority would unfetter him from his alliance with the Greens, who would lose their disproportional clout and return to the wilderness.

All this must be very tempting to Horgan, who has refused either to rule out an election call or to confirm one. Until now.

But those reasons are about opportunistically grabbing power for another full term, not about the best interests of British Columbians. New Brunswick is a tiny province with less than a fifth of the population of B.C. — the challenges of holding an election here during this pandemic are much greater than in New Brunswick.

That said, Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. can handle an election. The main objection, though, is that there’s no obvious rationale for it.

Horgan can certainly manufacture some phoney baloney about needing a new mandate in troubled times, but we all know that would be BS.

If he calls an election now, he doesn’t deserve to win.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

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