You have to wonder about BC NDP leader Carole James. Does she have the necessary royal jelly to become Premier after the next election? Because if she doesn’t she won’t be around for the one after that.

Ms James is a very nice, decent human being. I like her a lot for whatever that might add to this discourse. But it looks a lot like she is too nice for the job.

Here’s where many readers/listeners and I part company.

Success in BC politics doesn’t require nice people; indeed it requires people with ability if not the desire, to attack the “other guys”. One would have thought that the NDP learned that lesson when former leader Bob Skelly, the nicest of the nice, got murdered in his only election as leader.

It’s true that Bill Vander Zalm was fresh off a successful leadership race but as the election campaign progressed, Vander Zalm lost ground and many think that had the campaign gone on a little longer with a better leader, the NDP could have won.

Ms James is under the handicap of opposing a government that didn’t obey its own legislation and refused to call a Fall Session. That eliminated Question Period where Ms James could turn her Rottweilers loose.

Let’s segue from that into a story of yesteryear.

In 1974 the opposition Socreds, under Bill Bennett were making the case that the NDP were wastrels, dumping tax dollars off the back of the truck and so on.

The term “estimates” means that each Cabinet Minister must defend his spending from Opposition probing. In 1974 The NDP government passed a very sensible rule that the total time allotted for “Estimates” be 135 hours. The Socreds filibustered the debates so that when it came time for the Finance Minister to defend his estimates, time had run out. I should add that the Finance Minister’s estimates should take no more than a few minutes since he himself spends very little. In any event, Bennett, every bit the thespian, stormed out of the Legislature and went on a speechmaking spree around the Province hollering “not a dime without debate!” The NDP, rising to the bait, fined Bennett for missing days in the House thus making an impoverished hero out the multimillionaire premier on a phony baloney issue.

That particular option wasn’t open to Ms James this Fall but what about a province tour saying “bring back democracy – open the Legislature” … or some variant of that?

This is politics BC style; it’s a blood sport. Of course the “higher purpose” people will gnash their teeth and prefer that Ms. James lead by showing manners. The fact is as Leo Durocher, the famous baseball manager once said, “nice guys finish last”.

It comes down to this – does Carole James want to be a lady or a leader?