From Christy Clark’s victory speech last night:

“Our party is a coalition, it is a great coalition, and I am proud of the support that I have received from all elements of that coalition.”

Clark’s talk of the BC Liberal “coalition” is a direct response to her largest challenge – keeping the right flank of the BC Liberals content. Right now, the BC Conservatives aren’t in the game, but that doesn’t mean they can be ignored. That’s the external threat. The internal threat is a caucus that didn’t really want Clark as its leader – sure, it’s in their best interest to get behind her, but that never seems to help when you’re dealing with elected officials, now does it?

From the vantage point of someone who pays only passing attention to BC politics, Clark strikes me as the party’s best bet to win the next election. She’s likable and, more importantly, is a fresh face at a time when the BC Libs desperately need a fresh face.

All eyes now turn to the NDP, who will pick a leader to go up against Clark on April 17th.