Plecas's strange speech to local politicians had a kernel of truth: people are losing faith in politicians

On Wednesday evening, B.C. Speaker Darryl Plecas's biggestsin might have been not reading the room.

His 30-minute speech tothe Lower Mainland Local Government Association went from talk ofHarrison Hot Springs Resortto talk of B.C. politics over the span of 48 hours.

The quasi-endorsementof Hells Angels and Mafialeadership, along with a strange comparison of disingenuous consultation to sexual assault, wereremarks that raised the most eyebrows.

But before those controversial remarks, Plecashad already begun receiving blowback from delegates.

Why? He daredtella room full of politicians about 150 mayors and councillors in all, from Pemberton to Chilliwack that the general public doesn't like them.

"My point was there are people in political office who do damage to politicians overall. It's one of the reasons why the vast majority of Canadians in every single province disrespect politicians," said Plecasto CBC News the day after his speech.

"They do not like politicians. That's not my opinion. That's a matter of surveys."

Rising tide against the establishment

Leaving aside the question of which surveys Plecaswas referring to he didn't cite sources in his speech or the Power Point presentation that accompanied itthere's an element of truth to what he said.

Across North America and Europe, the success of parties and referendums that seek to upset the established order have gained greater strength.

Closer to home, only about 60 per cent of B.C. mayors seeking re-election last year were victorious, a record low this century. Local politicians who choose to retire(also a record high this century in last year's election) regularly say the anger of people on social media is a big reason why they're stepping aside.

Rather than blame others, Plecaswas asking his fellow politicians to engage in some introspection.

"The main theme was to say politicians need to have amoral compass which guides everything that they do, and they need to be attentive to many things which seem to me to be consistently overlooked," he said in the same interview Thursday.

At least, that was supposed to be the theme.

Rambling speech

But in talking to local politicians in the aftermath of Plecas's speech dozens were all too eager, off the record, to talk about it during all hours of the conferencethere were two main reasons hisspeech didn't hit the mark.

Just under halfhighlighted the fact local politicians are generally different than their provincial or federal counterparts: the vast majority do the work part time, there arefew parties, and opposing councillors are rarely at each other's throats in the same way you see in provincial legislatures or the House of Commonsor at least try and hide it in public.

"Again, I know it's different at the municipal level," said Plecas, more than once after the heckling began,but only after 10minuteswhere he made no real distinction between small-town mayors and national political parties.

Just under half were more confused than anything else: politicians, like any group attending a professional conference, don't expect to be attacked in a keynote address.

It's always a tightrope to attack the group of people you're speaking to, and if Plecas had a focused speech, he might have achieved what he hoped to accomplish.

Instead, he deviated early and often from the notes on his Power Point presentation. And he did so in ahalting tone, leaving those who weren't angry almost confused as towhat he was trying to do.

"I take responsibility for [the heckling]. The way I said it," admitted Plecas the day after.

Around 10 per cent ofdelegatessaidPlecas' message, when pared down, should have been the real headline.

It's likely more than 10 per cent of the general public would agree.

But if you can't read the room you're in, your intended message rarely gets out of it.