Andrew Wilkinson, the new leader of the B.C. Liberal Party, promises to drive a wedge between the NDP and the Greens. First, however, he will have to heal divisions in his own party. It took five rounds of counting before Wilkinson won the six-person race. That is hardly a strong show of support.
The strong support for former Surrey mayor Dianne Watts, Wilkinson’s final opponent, and for newcomer Michael Lee, who lasted until the fourth count, suggests there is a powerful desire among party members for fresh leadership.
The new leader, who says he wants to broaden the party’s appeal, is identified with the old guard that ran the province for 16 years until it lost a confidence vote last year. Wilkinson was an adviser to Gordon Campbell when he was premier and held three cabinet posts under Christy Clark.
After the dust settled Saturday, most of the leadership contenders joined the celebration. Most say they support the leader. But don’t think that it is strong support; Wilkinson has to prove to the cynics that he has what it takes.
He has plenty of experience and plenty of smarts, and he will need all that to battle Premier John Horgan and the NDP. To convince the dubious in his own party, Wilkinson will need to fulfil his promise to get under Horgan’s skin, and also unite a membership torn by the leadership battle and bruised by the freakish way the party lost power.
If, as expected, the Liberals win the Kelowna West byelection next week, Wilkinson’s party will again be one seat ahead of the NDP, making his promised wedge a real threat to the minority government.
Once the party is truly united, Wilkinson will have to tackle even tougher assignments — shaping a new vision for the party, and then convincing voters that the new Liberal boss will not be the same as the old one.
