Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Politics in Alberta – Are you Engaged?

This is a pretty interesting time to be living in Alberta from a political standpoint.

The Progressive Conservative Party is changing leadership.  The Liberal Party is changing leadership.  The Alberta Party will elect their first leader in the next few days.  The Wild Rose Alliance Party has engaged the political right.  The ND Party … well there isn’t much happening there - yet.

The next few months will see this all settle out – and then we will likely see a general election looming.

So what does this mean for Albertans?  There are many options to consider over the coming months and a role for all of us to play in how this will turn out.  Historically it hasn’t happened in Alberta very often – but this is a watershed moment for our province politically.

This is an opportunity to educate yourself on the issues and to question the various players on how they plan to move Alberta into the future.  Traditional media coverage, websites, blogs & other social media – whatever your preferred method of gathering information, it is your responsibility to do so in order to make an informed decision.

From what I have read & heard, there are some refreshing ideas and refreshing alternatives out there right now.  If you think that provincial politics should be done differently in the future, you may be pleasantly surprised at what is being discussed.

It is important that we get it right this time, or we will be playing catchup.  Just one more reason for you to engage.

Have you made a decision to find out more about the political parties, their leaders and their policies?  If your answer is no I urge you to reconsider.  Many of our parents & grandparents felt so passionately about democracy that they went to war to protect it.  They would expect you to exercise your right to vote and do so from a position of knowledge & intelligence.  

Let me know your thoughts.

Cheers,

Bud James   

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Canada’s Federal Election 2011 Post Mortem – A Few Random Thoughts …



Elizabeth May & the Green Party

This has been a long time coming, but Elizabeth May finally has a seat in the House of Commons.  Whether you agree with the Green’s platform or not, this is a good thing for our country.  May brings a new perspective to federal politics, and most likely a lot more respect to the process.  And I think we can all agree that we need to do things to be nicer to our planet.



Gilles Duceppe & the Bloc

The near elimination of the Bloc Party can be nothing but good news for Canada, even if it was at the hands of the NDP.  I have always viewed this party as un-Canadian.  Loss of official party status and their leader, plus retaining only four seats in the House mean the cards are stacked against this party rebounding.  The transfer of so many seats from a separatist party to a federalist party will make many Canadians smile.  Now the Bloc will be able to hold their caucus meetings in a phone booth.  



Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party of Canada

Whatever the causes were for the beating the Liberals took in this election, Iggy obviously has to take a huge part of the blame. Additionally he failed to get re-elected himself and so should resign without delay.

It appears a large part of the Liberal vote leaked left to NDP or right to the Conservatives, resulting in gains for both those parties and in a Conservative majority.  Will these voters come back?  I give the federal Liberal Party a 50/50 chance of surviving.

Ultimately the sponsorship scandal, although politically is old news, continues to haunt this party.



Jack Layton & the New Democratic Party

You have to give credit to the NDP for capturing the vote of a huge part of the population, and moving into the role as official opposition.  However the challenges for this party are now huge.

The question now is what Quebecers will think when they start to realize the NDP will have limited influence in Parliament due to a Tory majority?  How does Mr. Layton handle the NDP platform with so many new faces and so many new opinions in the crowd?  How do you keep a Caucus in line with so many inexperienced MPs, while trying to do your job of keeping the government in line?

One thing is certain – Jack Layton has less power in Ottawa today as official opposition to a Conservative majority than he did before as NDP leader in a minority government.  He is going to have to figure out how to move forward from here.



Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada.

The Conservatives finally have their majority and can get on with it.  It has been said of Harper that he is a policy guy; he doesn’t like being out there campaigning, kissing babies, etc.  He should be pretty happy that there will be none of that for the next four years.

He has a challenge though – a comfortable majority means caucus members will start to find their own voice.  With a minority government Harper’s leadership style in caucus – a top down, micro management style – worked because MPs were afraid if they rocked the boat it may lead to the government falling.  With a majority government there is no such worry, so Mr. Harper will need to change that leadership style.  Failure to do so could see MPs leaving caucus, and that comfortable majority may become not so comfortable.



The end result – a parliament that has become as polarized as it has been in recent history.  But it's a stable parliament.

Quote of the night goes to Prime Minister Harper – “I want to thank you again – for the fifth time in nine years …”.

Let me know your thoughts.


Cheers,

Bud James