[ad_1]
Breadcrumb Links Politics Opinion columnists
Opinion: The election was probably not winnable, the report concludes, but the party should have retained more seats than it did
Author of the article:
Vaughn Palmer Former British Columbia Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson delivers a statement on election night, October 24, 2020 Photo by Jason Payne / PNG Article content
VICTORIA The BC Liberals issued a postmortem on last year’s election and the harshest verdict came against Andrew Wilkinson, which led them to their worst result in seven campaigns.
While it’s not particularly helpful to rehash criticism of his character or his actions, the report’s authors wrote, it should be noted that many people felt that Wilkinson struggled to be heard at the television and in online videos.
A common refrain was that onscreen Wilkinson came across as stilted, combative, and uncomfortable. Even in places where the Liberals have done well, participants expressed general dissatisfaction with his leadership.
Wilkinson has also been blamed for fumbling with two mid-campaign seizures. He waited too long to oust extremist candidate Laurie Throness and continued the controversy over Jane Thornthwaites’ misguided remarks during a retirement roast.
The main finding is in responses to a survey of some 800 Liberal volunteers, staff and candidates, who were asked: On a scale of zero to 10, zero being poor and 10 being excellent, how would you rate Andrew Wilkinson’s performance as leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party?
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Average rating: 4 out of 10. As if that weren’t devastating enough, Wilkinson only got a 3.5 rating from people at the party and Liberal headquarters in Vancouver, where he holds one of the seats. in the Legislative Assembly.
Some of the written responses to the poll centered on (NDP Leader John) Horgan being more approachable than Wilkinson and beating him over wanting to have a beer with this guy test, the report continued. Even among Wilkinson’s biggest fans, there was a general feeling that he lacked some of the intangible qualities that would be required for someone to break through under such difficult circumstances.
Those circumstances being an early election, called in the midst of a pandemic, for which the Liberals were largely unprepared, according to the autopsy.
Wilkinson has long since left the management. Indeed, he has barely been heard since the election, although the report maintains that it readily accepts responsibility for the debacle.
But in fairness, the report from Counsel Public Affairs, a Toronto-based communications and government relations firm retained by the Liberals, manages to spread the blame.
On preparation: Some elements of the party were caught off guard by the election calendar. While many of the staff rightly argued that Horgan was gearing up for a fall election, others thought it was a bluff until the end. More than one person from the central campaign admitted this error in judgment and felt that it could have had a big impact on the campaign.
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
On the platform: Even in ridings where the BC Liberals won, many respondents felt that the platform did not fully understand the issues of ordinary British Columbians. This illustrates an interesting disconnect between what Liberal activists in British Columbia see as their personal values and the values they perceive to be held by the general public.
Most popular promise with liberal supporters: end the ICBC monopoly. Biggest Bomb: Eliminate Provincial Sales Tax for One Year.
Campaign Strategy: Some respondents felt the overall image portrayed in the tour’s advertisements and events was too conservative and too rural for a party seeking support in Metro Vancouver. However, a central campaign official pointed out that this was largely a deliberate furniture-saving strategy to prevent a more general collapse of the British Columbia Liberal vote. Very early on it became clear that the party was going to lose seats, and so the pickup truck and blue jeans strategy was used to consolidate the rural base. Some felt that this strategy, while painful, ultimately succeeded in preventing a worse electoral defeat.
Media Relations: Campaign staff felt the press gallery was already comfortable with the Horgan campaign and unlikely to ask too many tough questions unless there was major controversy does not explode.
The campaign hoped to redress the balance on social media to find out: The type of people who are active and influential on Twitter tend to be younger, urban members of the professional / managerial class. Unfortunately for the BC Liberals, this is a group of people who tend to support the BC NDP. BC Liberals were overwhelmed online and lost the political arguments before the stories were even written. Survey participants said they were visually bombarded with BC NDP content online.
Publicity
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Still, the autopsy recognizes that the odds were against the Liberals anyway.
The question arose as to whether the election was winnable, say authors Ben Parsons, David Murray and Amber Ruddy. Most senior executives interviewed felt that when the election was called they were probably not (winnable). However, many felt that the BC Liberals could have retained more seats with a different strategy, message and leadership style.
The report ends with a predictable to-do list for putting the party back into the game: investing time and money in promoting diversity, recruiting young people, training candidates, rebranding and development. a stronger presence on social networks.
The Liberal Party needs to update its language so that it is accessible and responsive to the needs of ordinary people, say the authors. The province has changed and the Liberals should change too.
This is something Prime Minister John Horgan tells the Liberals in a roundabout way whenever he gets the chance.
Share this article on your social network Advertising
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
By clicking the subscribe button, you agree to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thank you for registering!
comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil discussion forum and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour of moderation before appearing on the site. We ask that you keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications, you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, if there is an update to a comment thread that you are following, or if a user you are following. follow comments. Check out our community guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
[ad_2]
picture credit