November 4, 2010 - 11:20 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
He went out on his own terms instead of waiting to get embarrassed, in spite of what internal polling numbers released after the fact are saying.
The fact that 17 MLAs signed and delivered a letter of non-confidence against him was dire, but the prospect of having factions actively working to undermine him at the upcoming party convention in Penticton might have been the nail in his coffin.
These points have been confirmed for me as the two reasons that Campbell pulled the plug on what was expected to be a longer tenure as Premier.
He might be saying that it was because of his dismal public approval rating, but he has been unbelieveably unpopular for over a year now, and it never seemed to faze him.
I mean, you don’t go out and hire a veteran like Belle Puri as your new press secretary (she was completely caught off guard) and Paul Taylor as your new Chief of Staff – both the week before – or spend $240,000 on a slickly produced address showcasing upcoming income tax cuts, if you are on planning on making such an announcement.
This is why for a number of reasons, I find these numbers very suspect.
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October 18, 2010 - 11:56 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
April 19, 2010 - 12:05 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
The BC Government should remember that behind each of these students, there are two parents concerned, angry and confused by the budget shortfalls being encountered by school boards across the province.
With the vote on the Vancouver School Board (VSB) proposed $18.12 million in budget cuts for fiscal 2010-11, the heat is rising on a provincial government led by a rookie Minister being thrown to the wolves by Premier Gordon Campbell.
Yesterday, over 500 parents and kids packed the John Oliver high school gym to rant against a provincial government that so far doesn’t have the guts to be honest with the amount of funding AND EXPENSES that are being passed on to school board across BC.
Speaking about the politics of the situation for a second, I interpret the shifting of the messaging from the Minister as a sign that the BC Liberals are beginning to realize that it is them rather than the VSB, or any individual school board for that matter, that is going to bare the brunt of the fallout.
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January 11, 2010 - 1:05 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
It is unlikely that the Premier will be able to bask in the afterglow of the Olympics.
This article by the Globe and Mail’s local stalwart Ian Bailey is interesting for the possibilities it outlines for Mayor Gregor Robertson, but far more intriguing for analysis of how the Olympics are unlikely to add life to the career of Premier Gordon Campbell.
This could be the beginning of a political arc upwards for Robertson. Now while I would argue that for the purposes of re-election the Mayor’s profile is more than adequate, I can also see the global media propelling Robertson to a new status within his own city, province and country. We are all familiar with the typical Canadian syndrome – paying more attention to home grown talent only after the rest of the world notices them.
But with Campbell, I foresee a far different scenario – one that ends prematurely for a man who just claimed that “he isn’t planning on quitting politics after the Olympics.”
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