The focus of StrategicThoughts will remain on provincial politics, but most people will be considering the federal election so from time to time I will comment on that scene. Despite the best efforts of those who are trying to convince people that the federal and provincial Liberals are distinct from each other, some people insist that they cannot be completely separated. Witness the headline in the Vancouver Province on Victoria Day, "B.C. Liberals Driving Feds Down: Anderson".

Premier Gordon Campbell claims that the only thing he shares with the federal Liberals is the name, but most folks know that Deputy Premier Christy Clark's husband is Paul Martin's chief organizer in BC, and that Finance Minister Gary Collins' former assistant, David Basi, was another big Martin organizer. When that is combined with direct shots from the likes of Victoria MP David Anderson, it is hard to accept the word of the Premier. Of course, a credibility gap is nothing new for, "I didn't sell BC Rail", Campbell.

Campbell's decline in the polls is bound to worry Anderson, but their differences over the moratorium on offshore drilling may be the reason for his shot at Campbell. That is but one example of the federal-provincial issues that deserve full debate before voting day on June 28th. Salmon "farming", the U.S. softwood tariff, failure of the federal government to prepare for earthquake readiness on the west coast, and the democratic deficit are other topics that also need to be discussed.

On the day the election was called NDP Leader Jack Layton joked during his speech in Vancouver that "a Liberal parachute opens on impact." That's a nice way of saying "too little, too late". If any of Martin's hand picked candidates win, who will they represent when they get to Ottawa, the guy who appointed them, or the constituents who were denied a choice?

Who can forget Stockwell Day arriving on a seadoo? Notwithstanding that performance, the Alliance won 16 of its initial 27 BC seats with clear majorities, in some cases exceeding 70%! The best the NDP did was a 42% win for Libby Davies in Vancouver East; the Liberals' best was 45% for Stephen Owen in Vancouver Quadra. This time Davies is running against a Martin appointee, and Owen appears at risk of losing to the united right although recent polls show the Liberals ahead of the Conservatives in BC.

The polls suggest that the NDP may do much better than the two seats they won in the last federal election, November 27, 2000. Since the 2000 election there has been a redistribution of federal riding boundaries and the addition of two new constituencies. The tables appear to have turned now but without polling or canvassing results on a riding by riding basis, it is impossible to make a reasonable prediction of the BC vote on June 28th.

British Columbians should consider whether they need yet another member of the Conservative party who will sit in opposition or whether they need a New Democrat who might hold the balance of power and the ability to hold Paul Martin accountable.