It looks as if Gordon Campbell, who left office as the least popular premier in the history of British Columbia, won’t turn up to accept his Order of B.C. at the awards ceremony Oct. 4.

He has a scheduling conflict, which is politician-speak for “Why would I attend my own lynch mob?”
The tsunami of hate that followed his getting the award swamped what was left of his reputation and assured he’ll be as far away from the ceremony as a man can be.

Now that he’s Canada’s High Commissioner to Britain, he can safely divide his time between London and his favourite Maui retreat and wait until the heat dies down in B.C. If it ever does.

This level of outrage over a ceremonial award is unprecedented. You’d think Campbell got away with murder, and many of his fiercest critics are thinking exactly in those terms: This guy saddled us with the HST when he said he wouldn’t. He sold BC Rail when he said he wouldn’t. He compromised BC Hydro by opening the door to private power companies. He scurried off to London and left us with a big fat deficit thanks to a spending spree that included almost $600 million for a new roof on BC Place. Good idea, that one.

Before we tie the noose around his neck, let’s not forget Gordon Campbell is our own creation. We elected him three times, which is still less than W.A.C. Bennett’s record of seven terms in a row, but that was before the Internet and Twitter changed the game, requiring a different breed of politician. Like Ashton Kutcher, maybe.

As for the HST, Jean Chretien did exactly the same thing when he told everyone he would rescind the GST and then changed his mind once he got elected and got a look at the moths flying around the federal wallet. Chretien is still fondly remembered as the “little guy from Shawinigan.” Campbell will be remembered for his mug shot, commemorating B.C.’s only DUI premier. I bet the committee assessing this year’s crop of nominations wishes Campbell’s nomination had been lost in the mail.

What were they supposed to do? Turn him down? Send him home to say five Hail Marys and five Our Fathers? Recommend he try some other province, like P.E.I.?

The only thing worse than giving him the award would have been rejecting the man, who was, after all, the face of B.C. during the triumphant Winter Olympics. Or, now that he’s not showing up, they could just give it to Sumi, Quatchi and Miga instead.