Even the most fervent supporter of the Alberta Tories could no longer close his or her eyes to the inconvenient truth that has moved into plain view: premier Ed Stelmach has become a liability not only for his party, but for the entire province.
With a deficit verging on $7 billion and counting, an oil and gas sector on life support, and a health-care system that is disintegrating, no one will believe anymore that all these problems have been caused by external factors, such as the global recession. Yet, the premier and his inner circle maintain that none of this is the government’s fault; it all went south because of the world’s dire economic situation.
The prices for oil and gas have, indeed, fallen quite substantially from celestial heights, but the industry could have slogged on had it not been for Stelmach’s changes to the oil royalties framework – not to mention the four or five band-aid fixes he unsuccessfully tried to add later on. Oil executives have been quoted as saying that they are leaving Alberta’s oil sands for economically and politically more stable environments, such as in the Middle East, because Stelmach has become about as predictable as Venezuela’s crazed dictator Hugo Chavez.
That the public health-care system is in dire need of reform, no one will deny. But dismantling the regional structure of the system and replacing it with a centralized “superboard” manned by Tory cronies with no or hardly any experience in the health-care sector was counterproductive. Putting an Australian in charge, whose greatest achievement to date has been his venomous attacks on nurses, was yet another silly idea.
The deficit, certainly, is partially the result of the government’s inability to maintain its revenue streams. Revenue from oil and gas royalties has shrivelled to a pittance. Recession has definitely played a part in it, but the decline is mainly due to Stelmach’s botched royalties reform. The biggest cause of the growing deficit, however, is the Tories’ liberal, drunken-sailor-like spending habits. Cabinet ministers have been caught using the government jet, financed by the taxpayers, for personal, rather than official, business. Stelmach and his team also generously granted themselves a considerable pay raise.
In short, the recession can be blamed for five, maybe, ten percent of the overall problem, but no more. The award for mismanaging Canada’s most prosperous province, while also seriously mauling the goose that lays the golden eggs, however, must go to none other than Ed Stelmach.
With his approval rating collapsing with each new poll, Stelmach decided to spend a six-figure dollar amount on producing a TV “infomercial”. Those who did not fall asleep watching this expensive soporific did not learn anything new. For a lot of tax dollars, Stelmach merely provided yet more proof that he has zero leadership capabilities. He regurgitated the various excuses he has been feeding to the public ever since he took office.
Not once does he accept responsibility for the problems he has caused, nor does he ever apologize. On health care and other issues, he describes the substance of the problem, but fails to provide any concrete suggestions for solving it. Real conservatives must be in shock: their premier and party leader speaks and conducts himself like a socialist: deny everything and blame everything on others, while protecting one’s position of power.
If Stelmach had wanted to look even more ridiculous than he already did following the broadcast of his little home video, he could not have chosen a better way than to tell a fib that would instantly be identified as such: the day after the televised “please-love-me-again” plea, Stelmach made the solemn promise that he would cut his already-excessive salary by 15 percent. The media had a field day shredding his promise and exposing it as the fib that it was: the premier did not cut his salary by 15 percent at all; he only took a 5.7% cut.
It was a standard “accounting trick”: promising to cut his salary by 15%, the premier instead reduced his allowance by 15%, thus producing the 5.7% reduction in salary. Since the premier has never bothered much with facts or reality, there is no doubt he will probably continue to pat himself on the shoulder and remind Albertans that he, Ed Stelmach, sacrificed 15% of his hard-earned salary to serve as a role model for all the public employees whose salaries he plans to freeze for two years.
If Stelmach sticks it out and, thus, sticks it to Alberta in this way, there will be a lot more problems, such as labour action by nurses, teachers and public-sector employees – the writing is already on the wall.
On November 7, Stelmach will face a mandatory leadership review by his party. His predecessor, Ralph Klein, has said that Stelmach must get at least 70% support, or he must resign. Stelmach, however, still believes that people love him – they may not always understand him and his message, but they still love him. The premier should pay more attention to polls and trends: the fledgling Wildrose Alliance party is quickly rising in popularity (at around 22% of support) and has added close to 12,000 new members since June. If the Wildrosers elect the right kind of leader on October 17, Danielle Smith, the party will soon become Albertans’ top choice in future polls.
Regardless of the leadership outcome, Stelmach’s expensive video made one thing perfectly clear: Albertans, no matter where they may find themselves ideologically, cannot in good conscience allow Stelmach to continue on as premier. With the next election still a few years off, his past record demonstrates that he would inflict even more and worse damage on Alberta if he were allowed to serve out his full term.
For Alberta to get back on track, two things must happen. First, Tories must reject Stelmach on Nov. 7 by an overwhelming majority. Second, Wildrosers must elect as their leader Danielle Smith so as to have a formidable (conservative) opposition to a government that is conservative in name only. This way, Albertans could rest assured that there was a competent and credible premier-in-waiting (Smith) while the Tories installed a new, temporary leader and premier.
Who knows? Stelmach’s replacement could turn out to be the answer to people’s prayers. But if not, Smith could pick up the pieces and lead the Wildrose Alliance to victory in 2011/2012. Either way, Albertans would be given a fighting chance under this scenario. If Stelmach stays on for another two or three years, however, Albertans will see nothing but fighting, and not even a trace of a chance.
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