Gordon Campbell must be smiling right now because it appears his beloved Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) deal with the federal government is not going to be shot down in flames by default, as was likely the case before he stepped down as premier.
Certainly, the referendum on the HST, which was forced on the B.C. Liberal government by the Fight HST boys Bill Vander Zalm and Chris Delaney and, of course, a disgruntled electorate, didn't stand a chance of surviving a province-wide vote.
However, things changed when Campbell walked away from politics.
First and foremost, Vander Zalm and Delaney stupidly played the part of egomaniacs and tried to force recall campaigns on MLAs they perceived as being vulnerable. The Fight HST duo got hammered because they moved the target from the BC Liberal Party to the MLAs who, in most instances, had been long-serving volunteers and municipal politicians in their communities.
The anti-HST movement lost momentum and left the door open for the B.C. Liberals and their "politicians' dance" (one step forward and two steps back).
When Christy Clark was anointed premier, the dance began in earnest.
To be successful, the dance has to be magical or even mystical, and the B.C. Liberals have done that by constantly shifting the dance floor itself.
The referendum went from voting at polling stations to a mail-in ballot, and we can only hope the B.C. Liberals can do a better job of getting our ballots out to us than they did mailing the PINS to their own members when they held the leadership vote.
But, the real brilliant move on the government's part is the sales pitch they developed and the millions of dollars they've spent on what opponents say is a taxpayers' paid smoke and mirrors campaign.
First, there were the independent panel findings that can be interpreted either for or against the HST depending on your political leanings.
Then there are the subliminal "the HST is good for you" TV and newspaper ads everywhere British Columbians look.
And, finally, there is the B.C. Liberal government's "promise" that if, and only if, we shoot down the referendum and vote to keep the HST, then it will be reduced 11 per cent in 2012 and to 10 per cent in 2014.
We know the B.C. Liberals keep their promises, and besides, this is how it was laid out in the agreement with the feds.
