Brian Gallant turnabout on seniors policy watched closely

The Gallant government's sudden abandonment Wednesday of a nursing home fee policy it had staunchly defended for months fits into a long tradition of New Brunswick governments wilting in the face of voter push back.

The question now is whether the public will view the climb down as a sign of maturity and open mindedness or inexperience and weakness.

"Best case scenario the government may be seen as responsive," said University of New Brunswick political scientist J.P. Lewis. "They introduce a policy folks didn't like it and they changed course.

"Worst case scenario it might add to the idea that they're reckless."

New Brunswick Finance Minister Roger Melanson announced the province would be introducing substantial increases in nursing home fees on higher income seniors and those with certain levels of retirement savings in his budget in March.

Liberals defended the idea all spring in the Legislature with Brian Gallant insisting he was prepared to push through negative reactions to the idea by seniors and others.

"One thing I can tell you, our government will not govern based on polls," Gallant told the Legislature in June. "We need to make some difficult decisions."

But Liberals have since thought better of digging in and this week joined a long line of previous New Brunswick governments forced to change course.

Former Conservative premier David Alward feared negative public reaction to spending cuts required by a three-year balanced budget plan unveiled by his finance minister Blaine Higgs in March 2012 and had him abandon it just one year later.

"It is no longer practical," Higgs told the Legislature in March 2013.

Shawn Graham backed away from a number of controversial initiatives in the face of intense public opposition during his term, including plans to transform the Saint John campus of UNB into a technical university in 2008 and a scheme to lower electricity rates by selling NB Power to Hydro Quebec in 2010.

Angry farmers forced Bernard Lord to undo budget cuts to agriculture programs in 2000 while even popular Frank McKenna was made to back down from key changes to St. Joseph's Hospital in Saint John in 1993 by hostile reaction in the city.

Gallant's popularity has eroded significantly since the March budget according to polls conducted by Corporate Research Associates in the province May and August.

Lewis says that and the fact seniors were the ones most upset by the nursing home policy forced Gallant to retreat.

"Older people vote a lot more than young people," said Lewis. "Seniors is a group government probably doesn't want to upset too much."