Sunday. July 14, 1991 - North Shore News - 9 Grace should prevail at Socred convention ACCUSED OF being all sty!e and no substance, from the outset of his campaign to win the leadership of the Social Credit Party, Bill Vander Zalm was to coin a phrase that would prove to be devastatingly prophetic: ‘‘Style,”” he said, ‘‘IS substance.”’ His leadership and essentially the credibility of his government disintegrated because of style: in- sensitive remarks on moral, racial and religious issues; questionable ethical behavior; palace coups and policy by whim, frequently an- nounced in the parliamentary driveway. The substance of the Vander Zalm government was a remark- able contrast: fiscal management that has been the envy of the country; enlightened education policies; labor peace within wage restraint; daring and effective privatization and an international flavor that has magnified the Ex- po legacy. in the misdemeanors, the premier was as much a victim as he has been a perpetrator. Simi- larly, his cabinet colleagues can share the accolades for the pro- grams that have worked. And a determined word must be said for the public service of Brit- ish Columbiz. For the ship of state to sail progressively through a fireworks display that has made us the keystone cops of Canadian poli- tics, it must have been an enor- mous achievement for the crew. While the bridge of the ship has resembled a wrestling ring at the Agrodome, complete with midgets and masked marauders, the journcy has been relentiess. In a week the Social Credit par- ty will have a new leader. If col- lective responsibility means any- thing, the decision should be of little Lasting significance. Mike Hareoeri and his New Democratic Party should form the government by the end of the year. Most detached obszrvers would accurately surmise that a change of leadership is just new wrapping paper over rancid butter. Outside analysts are almost always wrong when they dare to guess what British Columbians might do. And Social Credit — like the legendary Phoenix — isa mystifying species. eee Wha: follows is an assessment of the five candidates and what they bring for the scrutiny of the delegates. There is only one campaign that is a certain write-off. It must be presumed that Duaac Crendall, aod municipal politician from Golden, who succeeded the late Jim Chabot in the Columbia River constituency, has claimed that the party should put forward a more youthful face. The 46-ycar-old will demon- strate that face is what you fall on when you lack credibility. Norm JacoSsea, the likable former Mayor of Maple Ridge and lumber company owner, adds talist Christians, who find that each of the front runners carry with them too much baggage and too many scars from complicated personality struggles. _If be can mark time and elbow ahead of Me! Couvelier, there is an outside chance that Jacobsen could be a compromise in an otherwise “hung” convention. Couvelier has more delegates and apparent strength than Jacobsen, but it may well be a thin veneer. He and former fA Place To Go When You're Pregnant And Need Support: GIRTHRIGHT | Pall 987-7313 « Free Pregnancy Test ° fi m Vancouver Call F 729 Lonsdale fMorts ¥orcouver 697-7223 Gary Bannerman OPEN LINES education minister Tony Brummet were the most successful ministers of the Vander Zalm era. The former Saanich mayor has been tireless, honest and unspec- tacular in the delivery of a thoroughly competent job. But he will lose, unless the convention becomes so ugly that delegates scramble toward a secure haven. it becomes a choice between two women; the one is a poised and polished performer with a pretty pedigree unsurpassed by anybody, and the other a less ex- perienced, less calculating and more awkward communicator, who nevertheless overwhelms her colleagues with honesty, loyalty and bushels of common sense. Grace McCarthy leds in knowledge. Rita Johision counters with homespun wisdom. Evidence of Grace’s magic is everywhere (a World’s Fair, a lighted Lions Gate Bridge, a Canada Place et.al.). Rita’s career has been the quiet task of an ac- complished fixer and a peacemak- er. Rita Johnston is already the first female premier in Canadian history, but the title will carry an asterisk until two votes are won: the family competition next week and the subsequent election. Her brief tenure has not been impressive. The firing of Mel Couvelier in the wee hours of the morning was sloppy and ill-con- sidered. Premier Johnston has conveyed little knowledge of history nor any originality of thought. She ap- pears to be going through the mo- tions, mouthing predictable warn- ings about the NDP, and ite:ns of policy that have already been aired numerous times. @eo Despite attempts to make it an issue, age is irrelevant in this campaign. McCarthy is 63; Jacobsen, 61; Couvelier, 60; Johnston, 56 and then there’s the aforementioned waste of time. Mrs. McCarthy may have more energy and determination than any of them. The question that hangs over McCarthy’s campaign is not age, VENETIAN BLINDS EXPERTLY CLEANED MURLIN BLIND CLEAN tnc. 671-0351 (CELLULAR) 986-3686 (ANSWERING MACHINE) nor the ‘tyesterday’s woman" label maliciously being tossed around, but it focuses on the power brokers of the party. Many cabinet ministers, consti- tuency presidents and other influ- ential people have tended to view her as a mother who abandoned a sick child. But the question is not whether they will forgive her. The essential question of this campaign is: Wisi Grace McCarthy forgive them? The first lady of Social Credit is a formidable warrior. Bill Vander Zalm made a fatal mistake from which he would never recover. He made her ‘‘Deputy Premier’’ and then imposed an obstacle in the path between her and his office: David Poole. The effrontery of it all, un- folding with insulting regularity for two years, exploded in the face of a naive premier. No This is the Grace McCarthy the party fears. The lady of 1973, patching up the wounded, enlisting a new ar- my and training a fresh leader, and subsequently giving that tal- ented but dull premicr some spec- tacular events, is the Grace Mc- Carthy the party has always loved. She deserves to win. 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