Opinion

Clark's Big Problem: Vander Zalm Syndrome

Incoming premier faces a raft of challenges. Hardest might be building a loyal cabinet.

By Rafe Mair, 7 Mar 2011, TheTyee.ca

Christy Clark victory cartoon, by Greg Perry

...but does her caucus? Cartoon by Greg Perry.

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Christy Clark faces the Vander Zalm syndrome, and I question her ability to handle it. I would say the same thing about any of the other candidates had they won.

Before I go there, let me express my horror at the predictions of the media "experts" that, going into the final ballot, said that Falcon would win!

The situation was roughly this: Clark was ahead of Falcon by 1,000 votes, and 2,000 fresh ones came into play from Abbott's camp. This was a no-brainer -- Falcon would have had to get 1,500 of those vote to win! Doing that sort of commentary does, or should require a reasonable ability in basic arithmetic!

The Vander Zalm syndrome goes back to 1986, when Bill Vander Zalm won the Socred leadership and the premier's office with only one member of the cabinet supporting him. That was the late Jack Davis, who had been dropped from Bill Bennett's cabinet for doing some creative accounting over airline tickets and clearly wanted rehabilitation. Three very potent Socreds were in the last four -- Bud Smith, Grace McCarthy and Brian Smith. Bud wasn't even in the legislature, but was still a force to be reckoned with. Grace and Brian were major leaguers, especially the former.

I was at that convention, in Whistler, doing my show for CKNW and commenting for Bill Good, then on CBC television. The day before the vote, Bill asked me what would happen if Vander Zalm were selected and I replied: "He'll ruin the Social Credit Party within two years." This proved to be so.

Backstabbers?

Vander Zalm says he was stabbed in the back, and that the knives were out immediately after he became premier. McCarthy and Smith, both of whom I had served with in cabinet, don't see it that way, and as an observer, neither did I.

I once asked him if it wasn't a mistake not to bring Bud Smith into cabinet (he won a Kamloops seat in the 1986 election), and Vander Zalm replied: "It was the biggest mistake of my political life." In any event, under Vander Zalm the caucus and the party fell apart. He badly needed Smith's considerable political know-how.

This truism is the central piece of what I'm saying -- every caucus member, including cabinet ministers that backed others or were themselves defeated candidates, have a death wish for the winner. Every member of caucus that not only didn't support Christy Clark but worked against her thinks that they, or the one they supported, could do a better job, and that often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. That's a characteristic of all caucuses. Napoleon I put it this way: "Every corporal has a marshal's baton in his knapsack."

The public are mostly fooled by all the bonhomie seen after the winner is declared and assume that it carries over into the caucus room, where everyone thereafter supports one another. Somehow the public think that politicians are different from ordinary people and have an all-for-one, one-for-all spirit. They don't.

There are reasons for this, not least of which is the system itself, which compels caucus to stay united or the government will fall. This has two probable results -- the member chokes back dissent because he has ambitions or raises hell because he knows he won't ever get the prize.

The rewards for being good kids are very attractive. The possibility of promotion to cabinet presents an irresistible prize, as do the stepping stones, a parliamentary secretaryship or the whip's office. (When the Liberals had it 79-2, they still paid for a whip and deputy whip to make sure the government had enough votes!)

As the days pass and it becomes fairly obvious who won't be promoted, cliques form. To experienced observers, it's not hard to see the lines of division. And who could blame the backbenchers from being jealous? The money in cabinet is better and the perks of a car, business class travel and nice expense accounts which have you staying in the very best hotels are all hard not to envy. Moreover, backbenchers are expected by their hometown supporters to be in cabinet, and now that they're not, a feeling of being unfairly shown up sets in; they've lost face.

No one wants the back bench

Cabinet ministers sit in their own spot in the legislature. They get first dibs on making speeches and, in general, seem to be looking down on mere backbenchers and patronizing them. And they get that honourable in front of their name.

When things are going well, dissent is on the back burner. But most of the time, things don't go well at all. As sure as God made little green apples, issues arise which make it very difficult for backbenchers to sit still; they get all the shit that comes from supporting the premier and cabinet and none of the praise when, very seldom, they are praised.

Probably the worst thing about being a backbencher on the government side is that there's seldom any real task to perform; their job is to unhesitatingly support the premier and his cabinet, no matter what they feel deep down. That's why premiers often hand out make work projects to keep "idle hands form doing the devil's work."

It's true that some caucuses are more fractious than others. That's got a lot to do with the premier, but even those who were skilled at dealing with fractious supporters, like Bill Bennett, who carried the Socreds to victory in 1975, worked very hard to keep relative peace in the family.

What does this all mean for Christy Clark?

She must create a cabinet, a process which has little to do with who's competent and a hell of a lot more to do with politics.

Road of troubles ahead

When I was appointed to cabinet right after the 1975 election, it had damned little to do with my qualifications and everything to do with the fact that I represented Kamloops, always an important bellwether, which expected their MLA to be in cabinet. It's as Lyndon Johnson said when asked why he didn't fire FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover -- "I'd rather have him inside the tent pissing out than outside pissing in." Talent is handy, but not a prerequisite.

Where will she put her three main opponents? If they get big portfolios, it gives them the opportunity to shine and pose a threat to her; into a minor one, they pose perhaps an even greater threat. Indeed, she must not only give them a big portfolio, it must be one that pleases them. This was summed up well by Louis XIV who said: "Every time I bestow a vacant office I make a hundred discontented persons and one ingrate."

Now let's look at some potholes down the road.

Lots of trouble ahead, starting with negotiations with the teachers who remember and dislike Ms. Clark from when she was an unpopular minister of Education.

Trouble with the HST situation no matter how the referendum turns out, but especially if the government loses it.

Trouble on the Health front, where the many troubles that are making headlines today are seen as the Liberals' fault, for haven't they been the government since 2001?

Trouble at budget time, when cuts that are sure to come get the folks back home very cross.

Big time and ongoing environmental/energy problems, starting with BC Hydro in big trouble because of what the Vancouver Province has called a policy of "folly."

Who's her ally?

Those are the easy parts. The big problem comes with the expected unexpected -- expected because the phrase "shit happens" must have come from politics, unexpected because the actual crisis could not easily been predicted. It takes an abundance of political strength and courage to deal with the periodic bombshells that explode at the very worst of times.

Christy Clark enters into this nest of adders all but friendless. 

No, this isn't a male/female thing. Mike Harcourt couldn't handle the Nanaimogate scandal, and he's proved to be a very brave man indeed when he had a bad fall. He lacked, however, the political courage to face down the crisis.

It isn't just a question of courage but circumstances, circumstances I don't think Premier Clark can handle.

Farewell to Allan Williams

British Columbians mourn the death of a great citizen, Allan Williams, QC.


Others knew Allan much better than I (including Robert Exell, who publishes his own remembrances tomorrow on The Tyee). I served in cabinet with him for five years and I can tell you that no decisions were made until he had said his piece, such was his constant wisdom.


Allan served in local politics with distinction, was an MLA for 17 years and served as a highly respected minister of Labour and as Attorney-General during some difficult times, which he dealt with firmly and courageously.


One of the highest compliments I've received was when he asked me to be guest speaker at his annual constituency meeting.


It's shocking to me that Allan never was awarded an Order of BC. Cato the elder put it this way: "After I'm dead, I'd rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one." The Order of BC can grant honours posthumously and should do so.


To Marjorie, his wife of 62 years and his family, I know I speak for all of B.C. when I say about Allan, "well done thou good and faithful servant..." [Tyee]

Rafe Mair's column runs every second Monday on The Tyee. Find his previous Tyee columns here.

20 Comments:

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  • japander

    1 year ago

    She has no seat

    The fact that Xisty has no seat is a starting point for trouble when marshalling the troops. She pitches herself as an outsider during the campaign, cuts and runs in 2005, and the cabinet members and backbenchers alike who gutted it out and worked through those years are just going to forget all that and welcome her with open arms? I think not. All it takes is a rump of three or four discontents and there's the beginning of the provincial Conservative party - with sitting members. I'll leave it to the readers to project past that point...

  • jim1966

    1 year ago

    Good Article But......

    I have to agree with japander, Ms Clark has no seat and I would like to add she has no mandate from the people of BC. Ms Clark has got some real challenges ahead and her government may very well sit in opposition and rightly so. Bottom line is that the people of BC have been given a party (BC Liberals) whose idealogy is for the corporate agenda not the common man/woman. There are many issues facing this awesome province and Ms Clark (or anyone else who cares to run) better get it through there heads asap. The HST debacle is reason enough as to why this government needs to be defeated.

  • off-the-radar

    1 year ago

    the new talent?

    will be interesting to see who will be the new appointments to Cabinet; which current Cabinet ministers get appointed to Finance, Health and Education and who gets turfed.

  • Stewart MacKenzie

    1 year ago

    No new mandate required

    Not to quibble, but in our system the Premier and Prime Minister are not elected directly by the public. The mandate is given to the party with a majority of seats, or with support from enough of the Opposition parties to govern day to day - as Harper has been doing since elected - or with an alliance or coalition with other parties combining to form a majority.

    The idea that Clark needs a new mandate concedes the point that her attaining the Liberal leadership represents a change requiring a new election for public approval.

    Given that the other Liberal MLAs were already part of a government in office, it is quite a jump to assume drastic change will come with a new leader, and even if it was true, we have an election coming up in 2013 to change government if we wish.

    I wouldn't believe a single word Clark said in an early election campaign, which would give her the chance to be elected on promises rather than her record the next two years. Any party can lie and propagandize during a campaign, as Scampbell did in all his elections, and then do exactly the opposite once in office - why would we want to give this gang of scoundrels that kind of free ticket just because they changed the figurehead at the "Top"?

    The right wing has been trying for some time to deceive Canadians into believing our system is not what it really is, with the "Canadians elected Stephen Harper PM, not Stephane Dion" line during the Coalition/prorogation controversy. Many of the ignorant masses didn't know any better and so Harper's ploy was effective though deceitful and unethical!

    The coalition may have been an ill conceived idea and politically unsustainable, but it was perfectly legal and within parliamentary tradition - contrary to the Harperites' bleating about "Coups".

    There is a competition going on between the concepts of "Rule of Law" and "Rule of Man" and Harper and co as well as the MSM are on the wrong side of this. The media by using words like "Rule" rather than "Govern" constantly reinforce this archaic mentality which derives from the "Divine Right" of kings and has never been driven from the psychology of the public.
    Kings, Czars and Emperors "Rule", while democratic governments govern according to the law - which is an ancient and enormous entity and cannot simply be changed or overturned by any leader nor party in government. As Gordon Campbell proved more than once, by being found by the courts to have broken the law, governments are subject to the law, not the other way round, and may only make laws which harmonize with the greater body of law - which existed well before our time.

  • dave0ferg

    1 year ago

    Cabnet Building

    Don’t really see what her cabinet making problem is—except maybe for a lack of sound timber. She contacts every member of caucus and maybe a couple of outsiders and asks them to submit cover letter and resume for any cabinet portfolios they are willing, ready and able of fulfilling and distribute the applications to caucus. At the next caucus meeting, caucus will select by secret preferential ballot, each minister, beginning with the most sought after office.

    Ha ha—only foolin’. I’m not that naïve; since when has governing had anything to do with democracy?

  • Conductor274

    1 year ago

    Liberal/Conservatives destroying Canada

    How can BC voters even think about having this same bunch running our province. If we don't throw them out office at the next election then we're just a bunch of dumb hicks that deserve what we get. Same goes for Harper and his crew. Both Campbell and Harper have driven us deeper into debt than ever before while selling off our public assets and destroying the middle class in Canada. We can only hope that Clark runs into more trouble than she can handle so we don't make the same mistake again and reelect them.

  • mary jane

    1 year ago

    what next?

    I can only hope Bill V Z and the voters make the lieberals more careful - I don't think we have heard the last of Bill. Maybe all the politians will be on alert from now on - they know we are no longer unable to register our complaints. We can get a province wide petition going to inform them of what they don't want to hear.

  • Stewart MacKenzie

    1 year ago

    Self plagiarization from Rafe Online comments

    Clark's biggest problem is Kevin Falcon and his cronies, who may, with lukewarm support, help her out of the Premier's office after one failed election - allowing him a second chance within two to four years, and letting the NDP take the blame for the coming disasters caused by all the Liberal screwups of the last ten years.

    Campbell, from his 20s on, was never anything but a front man for the old CRR/Marathon/NPA/BC Greed Coalition. Anyone who thinks Pinoke came up with his own vision hasn't been paying attention - it has all been scripted by the wealthy and powerful and insiders behind the "Throne".

    Right now a power struggle is going on, but there are old school manipulators and bag people close to Christy Clark despite her phoney "outsider" routine.

    Pat Kinsella has been doing his slimy business on behalf of Socreds and Federal Tories since Willie Nelson learned to sing, and is now one of Xisty's closest advisors - or at least most senior!

    The real puppet masters don't wish to suffer the indignities of public office. Would-be social climbers with some (but not too much) ability are used as stooges, filling elected positions with acquiescent servants of big money.

  • ChrisB

    1 year ago

    The clearest message I get

    The clearest message I get from this article is that Rafe Mair, a former MLA and cabinet member himself, is 100% cynical about the entire political system and presumably always has been.

    In saying that, I'm not arguing that he's fundamentally wrong about the challenges Ms. Clark is facing, but I am asking Mr. Mair how he thinks we the people are supposed to respond.

    I made a very deliberate decision after the 2001 election that I won't be voting provincially if the choice is between the Liberals and the NDP. In fact I see no point in voting, provincially or federally, given the true state of our political system.

    Mr. Mair, thanks for the insight, but it's a shame with all your experience that you don't try to offer us something useful.

  • robmar

    1 year ago

    Liberal Leader Christie Clark.

    Beg to disagree - this is a male ego dislike and that was apparent when Clark was an MLA and Deputy Minister. Don't under estimate this lady, she lived and breathed politics.Back then, those who betrayed her caused her to resign, divorce and start a life - back on the road to recovery. She has made it back and will become BC's Premier and survive to serve well the BC people. imho.

  • Cool Hand

    1 year ago

    Vander Zalm Syndrome

    Still recall Vaughn Palmer on Global News at the leadership shindig last Saturday night when he stated:

    "I knew Bill Vander Zalm and Christy Clarak is no Bill Vander Zalm."

    That about sums it up.

  • alive

    1 year ago

    Lotus eaters

    A lot of voters who happen to have a decent job, are in Bill Vander Zalms corner still!

    As long as there is one temporary job using a shovel available, they will insist that "we" should not support anyone.

    The same people have no problem with bags of money changing hands either.

    Given that scenario, any of those candidates would do, and "frisky" Clark is no exception.

    Does anyone care that she will get dumped as soon as possible?

    What matters here is that a lot of voters need to experience what is happening to this province, and that is not apparant when you sit at Starbucks, playing with your Blackberry.

    Given a few more years of this regime, and many more people can no longer afford Starbucks and then perhaps wake up?

  • Skywalker

    1 year ago

    I think Rafe's analysis is sound.

    Christy Clark will never be able to keep all these disgruntled contenders in line and they caucus basically rejected her. That is not a confidence building experience. All her bravado at winning is a cover and it won't hold up for long. Vaughn Palmer doesn't know what he's talking about and has been drinking establishment bath water for years. Except for a few like Cool Hand and robmar I'm not hearing a lot of cheering that Christy is at the helm now, on the contrary. First she has to rely on another member to defend her position in the legislature and who will want to do that with a lot of passion? Rita Johnson at least had a seat.

  • sunshine coast girl

    1 year ago

    Watch for Kevin Kreuger,

    Colin Hansen, Margaret McDiarmid and Mary Polak to get dumped and immediately start trying to raise hell.....This is gonna be so much fun!

  • cw

    1 year ago

    All the way

    "All the way with Rita J!" Oops, uh. "A-OK with Christy K!"

    Let's hope for similar results, anyway.

  • deeby

    1 year ago

    Keeping one's enemies close....

    ...should be easy. IMO, some choices are obvious:

    Falcon= Finance, where he can work his fisc-Con chops, and generally be kept busy.

    Abbott= Education, where the former teacher can play good-cop.

    Stillwell= Health, where the Doctor can flourish or be hung out to dry when the blame is laid...

    But what to do with De Jong and Coleman...?

  • freebear

    1 year ago

    Let the bullying begin; better wear a pink shirt every day

    Christy!

    Great! Another Premier named Clark!

  • freebear

    1 year ago

    "Mr. Mair, thanks for the

    "Mr. Mair, thanks for the insight, but it's a shame with all your experience that you don't try to offer us something useful."

    Also a shame you said nothing about anything when you were running for political office; you layed many a brick on this corporate road/path too Rafe!

    Great, we have elders who pontificate now; instead of when they were in a position to really do something!

  • G West

    1 year ago

    I knew both Webster and Vaughn Palmer

    Vaughn Palmer is no Webster.

  • metacomet

    1 year ago

    I remember Rita J

    I remember Rita J screaming,"Show us the money, Mike!" during the election debate.

    "Really, Mrs Johnston," Mike said.

    Can't wait for Christy K and John Horgan to get into the ring.

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