BC Liberal party candidate Christy Clark responses to a question on HST during a breakfast forum with other party candidates in Vancouver January 18, 2011.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
George Abbott says he isn't sacrificing his image as a conciliator in favour of tough attacks on Christy Clark.
"I am a nice guy and I do like to build solutions in teams," Mr. Abbott told reporters, following a 90-minute leadership debate that featured spirited verbal combat with Ms. Clark.
But Mr. Abbott said he will not hesitate to launch a "hard-hitting attack" on policies he thinks are not in the provincial interest such as Ms. Clark's stands on an early election and health-care funding.
"We've got to make a distinction between a hard-hitting debate and a nasty one, and I don't think it has been a nasty one," he said.
Mr. Abbott, who resigned from his post as education minister to seek the leadership, added he thought Ms. Clark, the former deputy premier and education minister returning to politics after a six-year absence, would be a "fine premier" if she wins the Feb. 26 vote.
But things were not so cordial during some moments of the debate, which saw the candidates assemble around a table in the studio where Ms. Clark was a talk show host for CKNW.
Ms. Clark, during an exchange with Mr. Abbott, accused him of writing the NDP's script for the next election through his "personal attacks" aimed at her.
"You're making that up," snapped Mr. Abbott in response, noting it's important an actual debate over issues occasionally occur during a leadership campaign.
"Hold on a second, George," replied Ms. Clark, citing a statement from Mr. Abbott this week that questions Ms. Clark's ability to properly represent rural B.C. due to her decision, in 2005, to run for the mayoralty in Vancouver.
"I don't say those things about you or any of the candidates," she said.
Mr. Abbott, who has been criticized by Ms. Clark for proposing a referendum question on the future of the carbon tax, sarcastically noted that Ms. Clark seemed to be suggesting he shouldn't raise any concerns about her policies.
At one point in the debate, Mike de Jong, the former attorney-general, offered advice on avoiding the impulse to personal attacks.
"When I am tempted to delve into a personal attack, I start to hum the first bars of Kumbaya," he said, noting all of the candidates will have to work together after the leadership vote.
Kevin Falcon said people shouldn't get "overly excited" about disagreements among candidates over public-policy issues.
Following the debate, he acknowledged Mr. Abbott and Ms. Clark are "having heated arguments about some issues," and urged them to "try and do it agreeably."
Ms. Clark has been leading in polls that suggest she is the most popular candidate in the race among members of the public and the actual Liberals who will be casting ballots on Feb. 26th.
Mr. Abbott has previously framed his focus on her as a principled drive to speak out, but seemed, in one exchange with reporters, to acknowledge the tactical necessity of dealing with Ms. Clark as frontrunner.
"As we look towards the goal line, which is Feb. 26, we are identifying where the principal challenges are in winning this thing, and we're trying to be strategic in where we direct the campaign, and that's what campaigns do," he said.
Ms. Clark recalled that the federal Tories used footage of disputes in federal Liberal leadership debates to their advantage in campaign ads
"Often the criticisms our opponents like the best are the ones that come from within our family," she told reporters.
"So I think we need to be cautious about that in the way we conduct ourselves."
The candidates will assemble for a further debate Saturday afternoon at a BC Liberal convention to set the rules for the leadership vote later this month.
Ian Bailey