The anarchists in the NDP may have won a battle by forcing Carole James to resign, but they will lose where it counts in the next election. New Democrats are bitterly divided over what has happened. Some will reduce their donations to a minimum but remain members, others will simply quit. A new leader will face a caucus that is fresh from having fought a civil war and is the laughingstock of the province. They can't possibly claim to be ready to form a government.



Parliamentary democracy works best with an official opposition that is viewed as a government in waiting. British Columbians now have two broken parties, but the BC Liberals, driven by the discipline of holding power, will renew themselves while the bleeding within the NDP will continue. This ups the stakes for the BC Liberal leadership race. 



On Nov. 3, when Campbell announced he would step down, it looked like the BC Liberals would be hard pressed to win more than a handful of seats if an election was called.

Today it looks like they will be government for a fourth term, so instead of electing a temporary premier, the BC Liberals could be electing the leader of a new dynasty.

That prospect is not good for anyone who wants to influence public policy regardless of who is in government.

The absence of a strong opposition will allow a new BC Liberal leader to follow in the steps of Campbell with a strongly centralized and arrogant government.



Jenny Kwan and her friends may be celebrating their victory in driving James out, but history will show what they've done to British Columbia.