Liberal voters also went Green
Re: “Green voters helped Liberals stay in power”, (Citizen, May 19)
Whilst her contention that the Green voters may have been NDP voters in a past life may be correct, many people with a conservative outlook may also vote Green, and this may have displaced some former Liberal voters to the Greens, thereby giving the NDP a better kick at the can.
Whilst Liberal policy, from pipelines to prostitution, tends to blow in the wind, they have so far enjoyed their place as proxy conservatives in B.C. Listening to the May campaign at the last federal election, the Greens are fiscal conservatives, as wasting money on endeavours which may be harmful to the environment or which yield no long term net benefit for the community is fundamentally Green. This can lead to a debate of issues such as state ownership or management of the alcohol or other industries, as well as debate about how energy is derived and stewarded, whether BC Hydro should be reined in, and whether dams and pipelines should be developed. Debate in itself is important. A minority government or one with a slim majority is good for this.
The issue of which way the Liberals were displaced may not be as important as the fact that they were displaced.
Neil Heard
North Cowichan