The spectres of Harry Strom and Don Getty should be haunting Premier Ralph Klein’s aging Progressive Conservative regime.
Those lusting to grab Klein’s place as premier—cash-rich Mark Norris; way, way out of his depth Ed Stelmach; lacklustre Lyle Oberg; the hapless Gary Mar; and lib-lefter Dave Hancock—read on carefully.
Party members should particularly read on, too.
Some of us may not remember Strom.
Harry was the likable fellow who took over the reins of Alberta’s Social Credit party and the premiership from Ernest Manning, and like many of those around him, figured it would be just a routine election in 1971, with voters re-electing the 36-year-old government.
Wrong. The Socreds went down to stunning defeat before Peter Lougheed’s surging Conservatives.
Most of us recall Getty—but hardly with great appreciation.
Don took over from Lougheed in 1985. The Getty PCs did win in 1986, and again in 1989, when Getty distinguished himself by losing his own Edmonton Whitemud seat. Undeterred, Getty fled to rural Stettler and re-election. Couldn’t take the hint he wasn’t wanted. (Mark Norris—listen to the ghosts and take note).
In 1989, growing disenchantment with the PCs was evidenced by a worrying 16 socialist New Democrat MLAs. (Think of the 16-seat Liberal breakthrough last November). Thankfully, in 1992, rather than take his government down with him, Don resigned and opened the way for Klein.
Here let’s admit Klein did have a “political antenna” and any of his opponents for the leadership would have taken the party down to defeat in 1993 at the hands of Laurence Decore’s Liberals—who pulled in 32 seats to the PCs’ 51.
Klein was pretty fresh on the provincial scene, had no political baggage, and seemed an OK guy and a man of the people.
That PR ruse lasted until last November when an incredible 200,000 men and women who had voted for the PCs in 2001 either fled to the newly-formed Alberta Alliance or stayed home.
The Alliance took 9% of the vote—though it won just one seat—yet not bad for a first-time shot.
PC supporters whisper the government is now in real trouble with voters. MLAs also are both disillusioned and bitter.
Until they revolted earlier this month and forced Klein not to capitulate to Ottawa on the same-sex marriage issue, they had seen their role taken over by a small but powerful and self-serving coterie surrounding Klein.
Power from the top down, not the grass roots up.
Shut up, stay quiet, and do as you are told.
“Just about the entire PC caucus acknowledges the government has lost touch with both the caucus and the party and its grassroots supporters.”
That’s what one loyal but frustrated ‘outsider’ told me.
Another added: “The grassroots must take back the party, and the caucus must take back the government.”
If not, the PC dynasty, like the Social Credit dynasty before it, will be toast come 2008-09.
Yet, guess what—the majority of cabinet ministers—and the paid movers-and-shakers in Klein’s office and the inner circle—don’t realize they are walking on quicksand.
They actually believe they can pull off another election win with any of the earlier named aspirants.
“Most of the party and government hierarchy have been around so long, and dug themselves in so deeply, they have lost sight of why they were elected or appointed, and just want to continue to enrich themselves.”
Think back to the hangers-on in the Strom and Getty eras.
A huge fault line for the PCs is the Alliance and the potential disintegrating rural vote. All the PCs need to do is hold their 40-or-so rural seats, keep another 10 in Calgary and Edmonton, and they can sneak out another majority government.
Yet as evidenced by the mass revolt of rural MLAs on the same-sex marriage issue—and the possible continuing rise of the Alberta Alliance eating into their rural base—this gambit is far from a safe bet.
There are only two potential candidates who might save the PCs from self-destructing—former provincial treasurer Jim Dinning, or newcomer Ted Morton, MLA for Calgary Foothills-Rockyview—but it’ll be a Pied Piper’s tune marching to election defeat with anyone else at the helm.
You can bet money on that—the Grits already likely are.
Copyright ? 2005 Paul Conrad Jackson.
Click here to read Paul Jackson’s full and fascinating biography. Paul Conrad Jackson is one of Canada’s most distinguished and thought-provoking journalists. He is currently senior political commentator for the Calgary Sun and other related newspapers, after being both Editor and Associate Editor for a number of years. Mr. Jackson has interviewed such world famous political figures as Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, John Diefenbaker, Brian Mulroney, Pierre Trudeau, Yitshak Rabin and Benjamin Netanyahu.
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