Bill Vander Zalm campaigns for election
Even with its history of colourful politicians, British Columbia has never seen any leader quite like Bill Vander Zalm. Oozing confidence through a megawatt smile, the Social Credit leader is mobbed like a movie star. Of course, Vander Zalm is offering no real platform and he's refusing to debate his rivals . Confidence and marketing savvy are enough, he tells voters in this television clip . Vander Zalm's style and that of Bob Skelly, the NDP leader, are like night and day.
Earnest, serious and the opposite of flashy , Skelly wants to talk policy. But his first press conference turned into a disaster when he had an anxiety attack . Still, Skelly insists voters won't be taken in by Vander Zalm's "Cheshire cat" grin. Bennett.
In terms of popular vote, however, Vander Zalm's win was not so spectacular . He captured 49.3 per cent of the votes compared to 42.6 per cent for the NDP. That's a smaller share than the 49.8 per cent cast for Social Credit in the previous election.
The main difference in 1986 was the creation of 12 new MLA positions , mainly in Social Credit strongholds , as part of electoral redistribution.
Vander Zalm was so confident that, in front of TV cameras, he wrote down his prediction for the Social Credit seat total and sealed it in an envelope. It was opened in front of more cameras the day after the election.
Vander Zalm's guess of 47 seats appeared to be short by two. Later recounts, however, proved him to be dead on.
The term "Vandermania" was coined during the campaign to describe public fascination with the populist premier who declared almost everything "fantaaastic," and his glamorous wife Lillian .
The huge crowds that greeted the couple started to include women wearing woven headbands like those favoured by Lillian. The Fantasy Gardens theme park owned by the Vander Zalms started selling "Lillian bands" for $5 each.
Bob Skelly's attempt to recover from his disastrous campaign launch backfired. When asked the next day about his anxiety attack, Skelly joked: "I think I went to lunch and ate the wrong kind of tulip bulbs." It seemed to be a jibe at Vander Zalm for saying his family had to eat tulip bulbs to survive the Nazi occupation of his native Holland. The remark was branded insulting to the Dutch and Skelly was forced to apologize.
Wilhelmus "Bill" Vander Zalm was born in Holland on May 29, 1934 . in 1947. Vander Zalm bought a nursery and was elected alderman and then mayor of Surrey.
After failed bids for federal and provincial office as a Liberal, he was elected Surrey MLA for Social Credit in 1975 . Vander Zalm served in the cabinet of Bill Bennett until quitting in 1983 over a landuse vote.
Vander Zalm launched the Fantasy Gardens theme park in 1984 and returned to politics to seek the Social Credit leadership two years later. As premier, Vander Zalm and his wife Lillian continued to live in a replica Dutch castle with a windmill on the Fantasy Gardens grounds .
In 1987, a CBC Television documentary showed Vander Zalm greeting tourists and taking a call from Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in an admissions booth. To see it, go to the clip Vander Zalm's kingdom .
Vandermania didn't last
tiffany blue nikes. The premier's freewheeling style resulted in hasty, questionable decisions . Vander Zalm was accused of doing favours for developer friends. He also called a parole board member to complain about a decision and then publicly denied making the call.
Vander Zalm, a devout Roman Catholic, was also criticized for trying to curtail publicly funded abortions. He also refused to release a $100 ,000 AIDS education videotape produced by his education ministry for use in schools.
Vander Zalm resigned from office April 2, 1991, after a commissioner's report concluded the premier had breached conflictofinterest rules while selling Fantasy Gardens to a Taiwanese billionaire. Vander Zalm was later acquitted of criminal charges of accepting a benefit.Related：
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