Wednesday, November 03, 2010

The contenders


Okay, so he's been gone (or rather going) for all of a few minutes, so who's in line for the job?
Here' they are, in the order in my rough ranking:
  • Kevin Falcon, minister of health. Wears his ambition on his sleeve. Loves the political game. Has tried to moderate his stance in health. Works almost as hard as the guy he would replace. If the premier has a favourite in this race, it is probably Falcon.
  • Mike de Jong, attorney general. Careful. Doesn't flap easily. Probably the best bet for a compromise candidate, if the party can't digest Falcon.
  • Dianne Watts, mayor of Surrey. A party in this much trouble ought to consider reaching outside the inner circle for a fresh face. And with the departure of Carole Taylor to the chancellorship at Simon Fraser University, the leader of B.C.'s second city  leads the list of potential outsiders. Biggest weakness is lack of provincial experience. It is a big jump, even from a political arena as lively as the one in Surrey.
  • Rich Coleman, solicitor general and minister of housing. The Mr. Fixit of the government. Well connected. Has been more active on the housing file than one would expect, given his right wing stance on other issues. But was rumoured to be thinking of retiring at the next election. So may be a kingmaker, rather than the king.
  • George Abbott, education minister. Affable, witty and likely to be the choice of the small "l" liberals, among the B.C. Liberals. But may lack the ruthlessness to go for the top job.
Dark horses/ possible contenders in their own minds:  Barry Penner (aboriginal relations), Iain Black (labour) and Bill Bennett (energy). Kash Heed (no comment).


Front Runners and Dark Horses Strut their stuff:

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Tom Christenson is sufficiently removed from the blast zone to take a run at the Premiership.