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The news did seal a death of a kind, namely of the Liberals’ dwindling hopes that they could outmanoeuvre the NDP-Green alliance and force an early election.

The Liberals were already down a seat thanks to former Premier Christy Clark’s decision to resign rather than serve even one day in the house as Opposition leader.

The Plecas move dropped the Liberal count to 41, as the Speaker does not vote except to break ties. Those are increasingly less likely, given that the governing partnership can still count on the support of 41 New Democrats and three Greens.

The NDP’s once-precarious hold on power doesn’t look all that precarious anymore, a point Premier John Horgan underscored in welcoming Plecas to the chair.

“You have our full support,” said the NDP leader. “I look forward to working with you in the days and years ahead.”

Note: “Years ahead.” The Plecas move increases Horgan’s chances of remaining premier for years, perhaps even until the next scheduled election in 2021.

On the other side of the chamber, Liberal House Leader Mike de Jong did join his NDP counterpart Mike Farnworth in the traditional show of escorting the supposedly reluctant candidate for Speaker to the front of the chamber.

He also joked to Plecas (whose Abbotsford constituency is adjacent to de Jong’s) that even the slightest display of reluctance on his part would be “disingenuous” in light of the circumstances.

De Jong thereby added a touch of good-natured grace to the proceedings. But there was nothing graceful about what followed from his colleague, Rich Coleman, interim leader of the party since the departure of Clark.