John Rustad firmly refused a demand from his own party’s leadership committee to quit as BC Conservative leader last week. He should reconsider.
This time last year, Rustad’s political trajectory was nothing short of remarkable.
The former Liberal MLA had taken leadership of the BC Conservatives and had seen their popularity swell dramatically. The withdrawal of BC United from the provincial election put Rustad within a hair’s breadth of becoming the premier.
Since then, everything has gone wrong for the leader and his party.
Arriving in Victoria with 44 MLAs, Rustad now has 39.
Five MLAs have either quit the caucus or been given the boot by Rustad himself. Those expelled or fleeing include people from the far right, who seem determined to bring American-style culture war politics to the legislature, and more moderate MLAs, including former RCMP officer and Liberal MLA Elenore Sturko.
Rustad’s party, hastily cobbled together, is coming apart at the seams after just 12 months.
In last October’s provincial election, some people voted for the BC Conservatives because of their policies and proposals. Some voted for them because they wanted a more generally centre-right government. Some voted for them because they weren’t the NDP.
No one voted for a party that is visibly self-destructing.
Our system of parliamentary democracy is founded on the notion that a governing party is held to account by their loyal opposition. Policies and new laws are scrutinized and criticized, alternatives are explored. Any attempt to do so right now is being lost in the noise.
Rustad is clearly not capable of leading a functional opposition party in B.C.
It’s time for him to admit he needs to step down.