Vaughn Palmer: Centre-right fight has B.C. NDP beaming

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VICTORIA — Premier David Eby could not have asked for a more satisfying development than the collapse of backroom negotiations between B.C.’s Conservative and United parties.

The talks, aimed at forming a common front to deny the New Democrats a third term in this year’s election, ended in failure and recriminations last week.

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United leader Kevin Falcon said Conservative leader John Rustad chose to “reject a reasonable offer aimed at preventing a vote split, risking another four years of Eby’s NDP government.” Rustad countered that Falcon is “clearly irrational and unreasonable and prepared to lie.”

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Both leaders accused the other of putting personal ambition before the interests of British Columbians.

Before choosing sides, stop to consider the possibility that they are both right.

Neither leader attended the two negotiating sessions earlier this month.

United was represented by political consultant Hamish Marshall, a federal Conservative, and Caroline Elliott, a former vice-president and now candidate for the party.

The Conservatives sent party official Angelo Isidoru and Rustad staffer Azim Jiwani. Party president Aisha Estey attended the first meeting though not the second.

Falcon provided the most detail on the talks, releasing a six-point summary of the United proposal for a “non-competition agreement” between the two parties.

The most contentious clause proposed exempting incumbents from any challenge for re-election. It favoured B.C. United, which has 15 incumbents seeking re-election, versus the Conservatives with just two.

In return, B.C. United proposed that the Conservatives would have exclusive rights to nominate candidates in 47 of the province’s 93 ridings, versus 46 for B.C. United.

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The one-seat advantage was not sufficient to offset the clause favouring incumbents because B.C. United-held seats in the North and interior also offer many winning prospects for the Conservatives.

B.C. United further tipped its hand with a proposal for the two parties to form a coalition government in the event the NDP was held to less than a majority of seats.

“The premier will be the party leader that won more seats, while the party leader that wins the smaller number of seats will be the deputy premier and hold a senior ministerial portfolio. Cabinet seats would be allocated in proportion to the number of seats held by each party.”

Given the advantage that would be accorded to those 15 B.C. United incumbents, the latter clause was readily interpreted as giving Falcon the inside track in securing the premier’s office.

Still, Falcon claimed that his offer was as good as it gets: “As British Columbians continue to ask John Rustad and myself on the campaign trail why we could not find common ground, I can confidently say that B.C. United did everything possible to secure a free enterprise, non-competition framework.”

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Rustad scoffed at his presumption, given recent opinion polls that show B.C. United trailing well behind the Conservatives.

“Kevin Falcon says publicly that he wants to put his ego aside, but privately, any discussions or offers have been completely unserious and dishonest,” he said. “The offer they put on the table was not a serious offer from my perspective at all.”

Falcon countered that the Conservatives had offered “no counter-proposal … despite an invitation to do so.”

Yet according to Rustad, his team did propose that in light of the opinion polls, all 93 candidates should run under the single banner of the B.C. Conservatives — which was a non-starter with B.C. United.

Rustad stuck to his proposal anyway: “As I have previously promised, the Conservative Party of B.C. is committed to running candidates in all 93 provincial ridings and unlike Kevin Falcon, I intend to keep my promises.

“This election is between the Conservatives and the radical B.C. NDP. The Conservatives are committed to restoring common sense in British Columbia.”

Once the deal was off, Falcon lost no time abandoning the clause in his proposed agreement that the two parties should agree not to attack one another for the duration.

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“Frankly, a number of their candidates, quite a lot of them actually, don’t share our values and our principles, especially when it comes to social issues and social policy,” he told reporters Friday.

“There is some commonality in terms of economic issues. We’re all free enterprisers. We all believe that a growing private sector economy is the best way to generate revenues to government so that we can fund great health care services and education, et cetera, focus on outcomes and results.

“There is some commonality there, but I make no apology for the fact that they have very problematic candidates.

“You will see that, you know, in the coming months, it’s going to be apparent,” he continued. “I think British Columbians will look at that and say that that’s really problematic.”

Don’t be surprised if B.C. United helps the process along, with social media postings targeting some of those “problematic” Conservative candidates.

Again, the New Democrats must be congratulating themselves at their good fortune.

B.C. United and the Conservatives have a mixed record in holding the government to account. But when it comes to targeting each other, they have no equal.

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vpalmer@postmedia.com

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