Christy Clark will be sworn in as British Columbia's new premier Monday, bringing with her promises of change and wide open ears, but fully aware the harmonized sales tax looms over her Liberal government like a heavy storm cloud.
Clark officially takes over from Gordon Campbell at a swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Victoria where she will introduce her new cabinet made up of ministers from the current Liberal lineup.
Clark defeated three Liberal cabinet heavyweights last month to capture the party leadership race following a campaign where her rivals knocked her families first agenda and questioned her lack of support from the current Liberal caucus, except for backbencher Harry Bloy.
Clark, who has made few public appearances since winning the leadership, did acknowledge the dominance of the HST on the immediate political agenda.
When asked if its future is playing a role in her plans for a new budget and early election call, she responded: "Exactly."
She said she wants to move up the HST referendum date to June 24 from September 24, but won't consider introducing a new budget until the HST issue is resolved.
Under B.C.'s set election laws, the next provincial election is scheduled for May 2013, but Clark has said she wants to call an election sometime before that and has not ruled out a fall vote.
Clark, who currently does not hold a seat in the legislature, said she wants to run in a byelection as soon as she can, leading many to speculate she will run in Campbell's Vancouver-Point Grey riding.
Liberal caucus chairman Ron Cantelon said the Liberals are raring to get the new government moving after a period of relative inactivity prompted by Campbell's decision to step down last November and the ensuing leadership race.
Campbell essentially acknowledged public unrest over his government's introduction of the HST caused him to quit without completing his third term.
"For the last six months or longer we've been in a holding pattern," said Cantelon.
He said the public is still angry about the HST, which combines to five-per-cent federal goods and services tax with the former seven-per-cent provincial sales tax to make a 12-per-cent combined tax, but the mood appears to be changing as business and the public get more used to it.
Cantelon said he hopes the B.C. business community becomes more involved in supporting the HST during the referendum campaign than it did when the Liberals first introduced the tax in the months following the May 2009 B.C. election.
Phil Hochstein, Independent Contractors and Business Association of B.C. spokesman, said the business community needs to play a central role in the upcoming referendum which decides the future of the HST in the province.
Hochstein's organization recently spent almost $45,000 buying advertising to support Liberal cabinet minister Ida Chong, who was the target of a fierce but unsuccessful recall campaign over her support for the HST.
"I don't think the business community did a very good job at the beginning explaining how the HST was going to help save and create jobs and employment," he said. "I think the business community will and should do a better job this time."
Retired University of Victoria political science Prof. Norman Ruff said the HST stands in the way of Clark's agenda of change and she needs to tackle the tax quickly in order for her to bring forward her ideas.
"That haunts them, and you have to get that out of the way," said Ruff. "I don't anticipate a whole lot of new policy directions until the HST referendum is out of the way."
Clark's major campaign themes were change, families and listening.
She said she wants to balance the books before considering tax cuts or embarking on government spending sprees.
Clark has promised a new statutory holiday in February -- Family Day -- to allow families to spend time together during the long winter period from January to Easter.
She said she will hold 12 town hall meetings across the province in an effort to get the government to listen to British Columbians more often.
Clark, 45, known as a tough debater not shy of confrontation, served as education and children's minister and deputy premier.
She announced plans to shake up the education system that included essential services legislation to prevent strikes from closing schools, introduced legislation ensuring parents have the right to volunteer at schools and worked with school districts to review the way they serve aboriginal children, who were dropping out at stunning rates.
A life-long Liberal, Clark surprised Campbell in 2004 when she announced she wouldn't run in the next election because she needed to spend more time with her family.
When Clark resigned she said she loved politics and was proud of the changes she helped introduce as part of the Campbell Liberals, but spending more time with her son, who was three years old at the time, was a stronger calling.
Soon after quitting, Clark tried to win the nomination to run for mayor of Vancouver, but lost. She then worked as a newspaper columnist and was an open-line radio host when she joined the Liberal race for premier.
Ruff said he believes motherhood and time away from politics mellowed Clark somewhat, but she doesn't have a lot of time to rest easy as premier.
"There's a lot of expectations placed on her and there's a lot of goodwill, but that will only carry along so far and come fall she has to start delivering on her own," he said.
