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VICTORIA — When the new cabinet was sworn in at government house a year ago, some New Democrats were pinching themselves over having made it into government after 16 years in the political wilderness.

Others had their fingers crossed over how long the hold on power would last, given the unusual way the party made it into office: the closest election in B.C. history, followed by the power sharing deal with the Greens.

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Today, New Democrats can marvel over how well things have gone. “Better than you expected?” I asked Premier John Horgan recently. “Yes,” he replied.

Much credit goes to Horgan himself. He’s the 10th premier I’ve covered and the one most improved in the transition from Opposition to government.

Through three years as leader of the Opposition, Horgan was all too often an angry, frustrated man. Not just critical in the way Opposition members have to be, but over-the-top negative to the point where he sometimes picked fights with reporters in scrums to the dismay of his own staff.