ha ha. Aren't I clever?
I met with Alberta PC leadership candidate Dave Hancock this week.
At a small event at O'Byrne's on Whyte Avenue, I had a chance to chat with Dave Hancock one-on-one for about 20 minutes. It was a good conversation. Though he looked quite tired, our conversation spanned topics from the past and future of Post-Secondary Education in Alberta to the diminished role of the Legislature under Premier Ralph Klein.
Though Hancock and I agree that the role of the elected Legislature in Alberta politics has been very much diminished since Klein ascended to power in 1992, Hancock is not totally innocent in this act.
As Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs, Justice, Advanced Education, and Government House Leader in the Klein Government since being elected in 1997, Hancock has played a key role in the caucus and cabinet that shaped today's political environment. And though I believe Hancock has mostly good intentions, not he or any other Government MLA can be admonished of the negative decisions that have happened under the Klein government - which is a key weakness of many of the top candidates for the Alberta PC leadership (with the exception of Ted Morton, who is an outsider and only was first elected in 2004).
The same way that the Government of Paul Martin was held accountable for the decisions made under Prime Minister Chretien's reign, Alberta's new Premier will be held accountable to the past decisions of his party and government.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
dave(hancock)berta?
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5 comments:
Good points, Dave.
Even though the new Tory leader will bring his own brand of leadership and ideas, it is still the same Progressive Conservative governmetn that Alberta has had for 35 years. I won't forget that and I hope Albertans won't as well.
The sins of the father?
Dave,
Although I can see you would be keen to chastise any PC running for the leadership as he/she will be the next premier, because you wish the Liberals would take over, are there any of the current candidates you would support, albiet grudgingly? In a "I'll-be-damned-if-I-am-going-to-buy-a-PC-membership" sort of way? Certainly you've made clear your disdain for Morton, but what about the rest? Just curious.
The same way that the Government of Paul Martin was held accountable for the decisions made under Prime Minister Chretien's reign, Alberta's new Premier will be held accountable to the past decisions of his party and government.
wrong dave.
paul martin government was held accountable for chretien's reign, but, alberta's premier will NOT be held accountable unfortunately. welcome to alberta my friend.
there is no such thing as "carte blanche" for a government that has been in power for 35 years. The Tories were able to survive in 1992 because they became the anti-Getty Tory party. The negative changes that the KLein government has made will overshadow those made by Getty's. Klein was an outsider in 1992. The only outsider in this race is Morton. The others were all strong supporters of the negative and destructive community and social policies that will come to fruition in the next couple years.
The Tories will have a very hard time distancing themselves from these policies and a very very hard time trying to reinvent themselves. It's time to throw the bums out. Albertans deserve much much better.
"paul martin government was held accountable for chretien's reign, but, alberta's premier will NOT be held accountable unfortunately. welcome to alberta my friend."
Therein lies the fatal flaw of Alberta politics. Don't underestimate the people, they will turn on you when you least expect it.
The end of the Tory regime is nigh.
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