Mir. Premier, just be ourself AS CHRISTMAS ap- proached in 1986, it was an anti-climax to a year of emotional upheaval. Expo had been a triumphant whirlwind. Premier Bill Bennett startled all observers by suddenly resigning, and the Socreds had followed with a leadership contest that became more of a spectacle than a mere democratic exercise. The populist had won. I was settling in the bay of the Vancouver Hotel when the waiter marched to the table to advise that the premier was calling me. Impressive stuff. People have paid big tips for that kind of page. I phoned home and my wife advised that Lillian Vander Zalm had called to invite us out to see the choirs, the Christmas lights and the gardens, followed by fish n’ chips. Informed that we were having friends over for dinner that night, the Vander Zalms had urged: ‘Bring them along.” When we arrived, we spotted television cameras. The American decision on the lumber excise tax was coming down that night. Federal trade minister Pat Carney, vacationing in Hawaii, had flown in aides to assist with one of her routine anxiety attacks. She was on the phone stressing confidentiality. see Near the end of November 1987 we had a well-known house guest. Richard Hatfield, wiped out in the October New Brunswick election, took the train across Canada to think things through and, at the end of the rails, he spent a week or so with us. When Bill Vander Zalm heard of this, he urged us to bring him out for dinner. There were two new things at the Gardens. Couvorden Castle had arrived from Pacific Centre during the year, and Peter Toiyo’s daughter Louise had taken over the Italian restaurant L‘Osteria. We had a lively party: Hatfield, the Vander Zalms, Pete and Elizabeth Toigo and ourselves. There were hints in the air that Christmas that the premier’s honeymoon was over. There was widespread discontent rumbling through the cabinet, most of it focused on the arrogant style of David Poole. The aide had become an impenetrable barrier between the boss and his ministers. But the contempt had yet to surface. Delays and discord surrounded the Expo lands. On the one hand, Toigo and I were warning the premier that his B.C. Enterprise Board, misleading Grace McCar- thy, were about to make a series of dreadful mistakes. The premier and Poole planted their backs against the wall and refused to be swayed. In the end, they yielded to Mrs. McCarthy. They gave away the most valuable piece of urbar property in Canada — for relatively nothing. ake Things started to fall apart in 1988, and Christmas was in the aftermath of an emotional party convention in Penticton. Earlicr that summer, 2 monumental fight occurred be- tween the premier, Grace McCar- thy and Brian Smith. Both resign- ed. David Poole was fired. A junior administrator in the educational field who had never made more than $40,000 a year in his life, Poole was given a $100,000 golden handshake for taking a hike. (Feeling sorry for him, Toigo hired Poole to run Gary Bannerman OPEN LINES Gaines Pet Foods of Coburn, Ont. He was fired early this fall by Toigo after serious financial ir- regularities surfaced. Poole — by now an expert in these things — is once again suing for wrongful dismissal.) A campaign was mounted in 1988, encouraged by McCarthy and Brian Smith to dump Premier Vander Zalm. But the enigmatic leader turned the threatening Pen- ticton convention into a love-in and he was ible to sail through Christer2s with lots of time left to make amends. 2 Party discord and a variety of mini-scandals reigned through 1989, along with an annoying series of byelection defeats. When the party lost Alex Fraser's seat in the Cariboo, the lynch mobs were aroused once again. Premier Vander Zalm silenced critics with a masterful stroke of strategy. He announced that he would take until mid-January to decide his future, at which time he would take to the television to talk to everyone. We relaxed for Christmas. The ‘‘will he’’ or ‘won't he’’ debate still livened public discussion, but it had lost the intensity. Our usual Christmas gathering was fun once again. Politics was again put into perspective. He chatted about many other things ail of which — like heatth and family — were more personally important. ~~ And here we are a year fater. Some of his party members are still after blood, They delude themselves with the infantile dream that a new leader would start with a clean slate. in fact, party fortunes are so low that on- ly magic can save the day. It is too late for iogic or me- thodical planning. Sudden shifts in popularity can only be fuelled by emotion. There is only one true populist in the party. To be polite, the rest of the cabinet is coloriess. Bill Vander Zalm is capable of igniting passion. It was positive four years ago. It was fading three years ago. It has been hostile for two years. A year from now, who knows? Whatever the outcome of 1991, the man we elected premier became lost at the end of 1987, For ail his indelicucies of brash comments, and the apparent thoughtlessness of some pro- nouncements, le was always honest, courageous and his own man. There should be only one plank in the government election plat- form: Bill Vander Zalm. tt will be the issue anyway. Mir. Prentier, just be yourself, A Drivers guilty of drinking RECENT CONVICTIONS in Nerth Shore courts have resulted ino fines and penalties. including a one-year driving suspension, tor drinking and driving related of- fences: WEST VANCOUVE Terrance Paul Nelson, 44, 225-858 Cotton. wood, Coquitlam (impaired, breathalyser refusal, 14 days jail on both counts): Loring James Anderson, 34, 12090-224st St. Maple Ridge Gmpaired. $750 fine James Calvin Parks, 42, &- 342 West Pender St.. Vancouver (impaired, one-year jail). NORTH VANCOUVER: Elizabeth Lirines, 36, 107-123 West 2Ist St... North Vancouver (impaired, $350 fine): Guy Ber- nard Didier, 35, 241 West 15th St., North Vancouser (impaired, $350 fine); Garry Allen Warren. 42, NFA (impaired, 30 days jail): Jevon Youche Pateman, 19, 3721 Sunnverest. Drive, North Van- couver (over .08, $750 fine): Diego Constantino Maltes, 38, 4801 Ferngien Drive, Burnaby (over .08, $800 fine); Brian William Campbell, 31, 844 Pro- spect Ave., North Vancouver (over .08, $600 fine). 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