Given that only 21% of British Columbians approve of Premier Glen Clark's performance, and only 16% would vote for the New Democrats according to a recent poll, here is some free advice for the Premier on how to improve his re-election chances. Skeptics should note that Damascus-road conversions can happen. And since BCers have an NDP government for up to another two years, Mr. Clark might as well do himself a favour and save the province from economic ruin at the same time.

Cut government spending by 20%.

Oh, I know. BC Stats recently said BC has fewer government employees per capita than any other province except Ontario. But your government's share of the economy is 20.6 percent Mr. Clark, as compared to 15.8 percent in Alberta. That means either you're paying each public servant a lot more on average than the rest of the country, and/or you waste a lot of money, say, by building highways and ferries at a much higher cost than ought to be the case.

Besides, it's only natural that modern governments require fewer employees per capita. Technological progress (i.e., computers) enables private sector employers like GM and the banks to do more with fewer employees. Why should government be any different Truth is, companies like Microsoft create the new jobs these days, not government. You can help speed the process by shrinking government's share of the economy to a reasonable level. And don't worry that this will make you look hypocritical Mr. Premier; Ralph Klein was a big-spender when he was Calgary's mayor, and his later conversion to fiscal prudence didn't hurt his chances of receiving awards from the Fraser Institute.

Balance Your Budgets.

Of course, this will be easier after you've followed the previous advice. The benefit here is that once you run surpluses, you will then be free to pay down BC's debt. That will reduce interest payments, which will then free up money for tax cuts, and priority program spending. But first things first: You will have to dump your advisor Tom Gunton to go down this road. No one likes to turf a friend, but advisors who bring your party to 16% in the polls are worth their weight in Bre-X shares. Time to cash him in before his advice sinks you to single digits.

Introduce (and pass) "No More Boondoggles" legislation, a Government Accountability Act, Balanced Budget legislation, and a Taxpayer Protection Act.

Given your penchant for flip-flopping Mr. Clark (against business subsidies while in opposition/ for them while Premier; against deficits when Socreds run them/for them while Premier) any conversion to fiscal prudence will be mocked, mercilessly. To prevent this, and to stop future governments from sliding back into picking winners and losers, from hiding spending and debt increases off the books in Crown Corporations, and new and higher taxes to pay for all that, your new principles must be put into legislation.

That means a law against "helping" business with taxpayer cash, legislation that requires transparent and honest accounting by government, no-more-deficit laws and, to ensure future governments (maybe even yours if you take this advice) don't wreck all of this, a cherry-on-top bill that forbids future tax increases unless approved by the voters in a referendum.

Truth is, citizens deserve good government, reasonable tax levels, and minimum interference in their lives from politicians, and it doesn't much matter who delivers such goods, be they Liberals, Reformers, a resurgent Rhinocerous Party, or a chastened NDP. Of course, you don't have to take this advice Mr. Clark. Just don't say we never offered any.