Some British Columbians were puzzled that Christy Clark could be premier when she failed to win a seat in the legislature despite her party鈥檚 victory in the May provincial election.
Simply put, nowhere does parliamentary law or tradition say the premier is required to hold a seat; he or she must merely be the leader of the governing party.
In practice, it鈥檚 an awkward situation when the premier is relegated to visitor status in the legislature building because she isn鈥檛 a sitting MLA. And it鈥檚 understandable that people feel uncomfortable with the idea that a politician can win and lose at the same time 鈥� it just doesn鈥檛 sit right.
It鈥檚 a moot discussion now, with Clark鈥檚 decisive win in the Westside-Kelowna byelection Wednesday. Her party won a strong majority of seats, and on her second try, she won a seat by a wide margin.
Regardless of the quirks of our parliamentary system, Clark is now unquestionably the premier with a clear mandate, a strong majority and a duty to govern on behalf of all British Columbians, not just those who voted for her party. The New Democrats, though down a couple of seats, still form a substantial opposition with a duty to hold the government accountable for the benefit of all, not just NDP supporters.
In the legislature, all MLAs, regardless of party affiliation, should focus on making points, rather than scoring points, putting people before party and the province鈥檚 progress ahead of political or personal gain.
Let鈥檚 leave behind the game of politics and get on with the serious business of governing British Columbia.
