Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Leaderless Politics - Alberta

We are at a crossroads in the history of politics in Alberta.

Who would have imagined as they woke from their New Year's stupor that a few weeks down the road we would see;

1. The Alberta Party entering the Legislature via the new Alberta Party MLA, Dave Taylor.
2. The Progressive Conservatives would be leaderless.
3. The Alberta Liberal Party, leaderless for years, would now make it official.
4. The NDs, good boy, stay where you are, we'll let you have the 2 seats.
5. The strongest leader in Alberta politics is Danielle Smith.

This is the day we are supposed to pay tribute to Dr. David Swann and as an individual one can do that willingly.

However, as the Leader of the Opposition in Alberta he was an unmitigated failure leaving the Party in ashes. I once commented that Swann was so politically naive that he could not see his way and therefore could not hold a political thought or conversely, he was so calculating that he was willing to re-build the Liberal Party in his image no matter that only 6 members were standing when he was finished. I think the latter may be the case.

The winds of change are blowing. As my daughter Kate watches first hand from her house in Dahab in the Sinai, Egypt I m envious of here for being so close to change while as a parent also concerned about her safety, nonetheless she is witnessing history.

In Alberta over the next few weeks albeit a little less important on a world scale, we will watch history unfold in Alberta politics.

See you all February 14th when I return from the Sultanate of Oman.