The sordid, bumbling ethnic outreach scandal has sealed the Liberals' fate in the coming election.
It has also finished Christy Clark�s leadership. She is responsible for the actions of the government, for choosing the senior managers, for not demanding to be kept informed, for remaining willfully blind.
She failed as a leader. She failed the citizens, and the people who put their trust in the Liberal party.
But what about the Liberal MLAs? This is supposed to be a system in which citizens elect representatives who speak for them and share in responsibility for governing. MLAs are responsible for the conduct of government, or the opposition.
Liberal MLAs also failed. They abandoned their responsibilities and let the premier�s office and political staffers run amok. They didn�t ask questions about who was hired or what they were doing, or set standards.
These are $100,000 a year jobs, representing voters who have placed considerable trust in the men and women they send to Victoria.
Instead, MLAs vote the party line. They defend the indefensible. They inexplicably give up their right and responsibility to represent their constituents, and cede all power to the premier�s office and political operatives.
Which is not why most chose to run.
All the candidates in the coming election should think about this scandal, the failure of Liberal MLAs to exercise their responsibilities and the dire consequences - not just for the party, but for democracy.
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