One of the myths perpetrated by the Alberta Alliance and its adherents is that they will do to the Progressive Conservative Party what the PC's did to Social Credit back in 1971 - totally sweep them from office. They believe that Albertans have a tradition of sweeping the governing party from power every 30 years or so, and, given that the PC's have been governing for approximately 35 years, we are overdue for one of these Alberta electoral purges. According to AAP true believers, when Albertans do oust the PC's from office, the Alberta Alliance will be the beneficiary, and form a government.
Given this, I found it interesting that two Sun Media columnists wrote columns in the past week that touched on this issue. On April 2, Licia Corbella wrote a piece discussing Preston Manning's surprise announcement that he may seek the leadership of the PC's. On April 3, Ezra Levant weighed in on the Manning controversy as well. In both articles, the prospect of Manning starting a new party was also mentioned as a secondary strategy for him in pursuing the Premier's chair, but neither Corbella nor Levant mentioned the leadership of the Alberta Alliance as an option.
Here is the text from the Corbella article:
April 2, 2006
Will he or won't he?
Manning's entry into leadership race would have a huge impact
By Licia Corbella A Premier Manning played a large role in the past of this province and a Premier Manning just might play a large role in its future, too.
Now that Premier Ralph Klein has essentially been told by 45% of his party membership that it's time to go (though it's not clear yet whether Ralph has fully accepted that message), Premier Ernest Charles Manning's son, Ernest Preston Manning, says he just might be convinced to throw his Stetson into Alberta's Progressive Conservative Party leadership ring.
And judging from the warmth and enthusiasm with which the 62-year-old founder of the Reform Party and the Alliance Party was greeted by the more than 1,500 delegates in attendance to listen to his lunchtime speech yesterday at the party's convention, it's clear that were he to do that, his candidacy would throw the leadership race for the top provincial political job wide open.
Manning received a rousing spontaneous standing ovation in the enormous room at the convention centre -- not one of those grudging follow-the-leader types of ovations -- as he was called to the stage by Morten Paulsen and another spontaneous rousing ovation at the close of his speech -- which sounded a lot like a stump speech.
When asked during a press scrum moments later if he's considering running for the leadership, Manning essentially said "maybe."
"A number of people have spoken to me about (running for the leadership), but I would need to be convinced that was a good idea for the province, for the party and for Sandra and myself," said Manning.
"I'm open, but I would need to be convinced."
What exactly would it take to convince him?
"Is there a good receptivity from a good cross-section of Albertans to the ideas I talked about today in terms of future direction, are there people in the party willing to do the work these types of contests involve, and from Sandra's and my perspective, is there anyway that could be done without spending 200 days a year on the road apart from each other, which is what we did on our last political venture?" he said, referring to his bid for the leadership of the Alliance Party -- which he formed -- but lost resoundingly to Stockwell Day back in July 2000.
Still bearing those scars, it's clear Manning will need more than a few standing O's and questions of his intentions from his numerous admirers.
Manning added he'd need to build up "a piggy bank" for a leadership run pretty quickly too, since former provincial treasurer Jim Dinning has raised millions, Mark Norris, the 43-year-old Edmonton businessman and former Alberta economic development minister raised more than $1 million and Calgary Foothills-Rocky View MLA Ted Morton has sizable cash behind him as well.
Again, no problem on that front. Within seconds of Manning's scrum, Cliff Fryers, a former chief of staff to Preston Manning and a founding member of Reform, said it would take him "no time at all" to raise all the money needed for Manning to launch a robust race for the top.
That leaves the need for workers and membership sales, and judging from how quick and positive the buzz about Manning's musings on leadership spread around the convention floor, those would also follow quickly, be it within the Tory fold or with a new party.
But Manning's real strengths are his ideas and vision. His current endeavour, The Manning Centre for Building Democracy, is essentially an idea factory on how to build conservative political infrastructure.
In his speech, Manning spoke of the need for Alberta to look to its political history as a source of guidance and inspiration for its future recalling that "Alberta began as a frontier territory -- where those frontier conditions fostered and rewarded independence, equality, cooperation and the desire for self government."
Naturally, it was impossible to look into Alberta's past without invoking his father, who was elected seven consecutive times and retired at the top of his game in 1968 as premier and leader of the Social Credit party.
"When my father was elected to the legislature in 1935 (during the Great Depression) Alberta was $161 million in debt thanks to a railway spending spree by our one and only Liberal administration in the first part of the century. The budget of the province was $15 million, $8 million of that was pledged to debt service. That left $7 million per year on which to run the province, with cash flow insufficient to even meet the public service payroll, let alone provide services," recalled Manning.
"That dark and desperate part of our past should keep us ever mindful in our present affluence of those citizens and provinces less fortunate than ourselves, and energize us in the development of fresh policies to deal with poverty and regional disparities in our time," said Manning to loud applause.
Manning pointed out that Alberta has long periods of one-party government -- only four administrations in its first century -- including the Liberals, the United Farmers of Alberta, Social Credit and the Progressive Conservatives.
To prevent the PCs from going the way of the political Dodo bird, Manning said big ideas are needed.
He believes a "new and improved" Heritage Savings and Investment Strategy could re-energize the party and even protect it from a potential NEP by investing some outside of the province for the benefit of all Canadians.
His comments about reforming health care, similar to France, Sweden, Japan and Australia, which all spend less per capita than Canada does on health care but which get better health care results, was soundly cheered as was his plans to marry love of land, the environment AND economic development together.
Sounds like Manning has his platform. If, as he says, he gets enough people to do the "heavy lifting" with him, this last horse out of the leadership gate might lap the field.
And the Levant column:
April 3, 2006 Knifed in the back
Klein's circle truly believed Alberta was 'Ralph's World'
By Ezra Levant Two months ago, the Western Standard published scathing remarks by top Alberta Tory insiders, criticizing Premier Ralph Klein.
Our report caused an uproar in the Alberta legislature, where cabinet ministers were trotted out by the premier's spin doctors to noisily pledge their undying loyalty to the premier, and denounce us for fabricating dissent against Alberta's best-loved man.
Well, on Friday night we found out just how well-loved he was by his own party -- just 55% of Tory insiders want Klein to stay on.
That's a staggering defeat, considering the 90%-plus tallies Klein used to get. It's even more dramatic given there was no official campaign to dump him.
But the only way Friday night's humiliation could be called a surprise is if one had believed the transparent spin by the five serious leadership campaigns to replace Klein. All pledged their undying loyalty to Klein in public -- then stuck a dagger in his back in the secrecy of the ballot box.
This wasn't surprising, unless one took Tory spin at face value.
Which is why Klein and his inner circle were truly surprised. During the past year, they had begun to believe their own press. They truly thought Alberta was "Ralph's World," a joke from the 2001 election campaign Klein's palace guard obviously came to believe.
They thought vacuous infomercials and meaningless throne speeches and tedious re-announcements of the same health care non-reforms made Alberta tick.
Alberta's ticking along fine on its own. Ralph and his team thought they were the indispensable authors of the province's success.
A perfect crystallization of this arrogance was Deputy Premier Shirley McClellan, who on the eve of the vote, said anyone who'd vote against Klein was a "fool."
Not only must Klein go, McClellan must, too.
She has no confidence in her own party members, 45% of whom are fools to her.
And they surely don't have confidence in her, either.
Klein won't last the year, of course. He's likely been shocked out of his self-loving trance, and will leave on his own volition as soon as possible. If he doesn't, more humiliations will be visited on him -- not exactly the legacy he craves. It's uncertain who advises Klein anymore, other than his wife. Hopefully she will help him leave with some grace, while that is still possible.
In the meantime, the leadership race to succeed Klein goes into overdrive. Jim Dinning is still the favourite, but Mark Norris in Edmonton looms as a serious challenger, both well-financed and representing the north.
Ted Morton was counting on the old federal Reform party base, numerically superior to anything the provincial Tories can muster, to put him over the top. But that strategy faces a threat from Preston Manning, who said Saturday if a sufficient team came forward to do the "heavy lifting" for him, he might take a run at the job, too. I've spent enough time with Manning to know that means "I'm in."
Will Manning run to take over the Tory party? Or will he do what he has done twice before -- start a new party, from scratch, and seek to replace the Tories altogether?
With Dinning's people controlling much of the Tory party infrastructure, a new party might be smarter.
In 1993, Klein was properly viewed as the Tory party's saviour.
In 2006, he may have become its undertaker.
A second Premier Manning? Albertans could do worse.
Alberta Alliance Party members must be crushed.
Here are two of Alberta's most prominent conservative opinion journalists, both talking about the possibility of Manning seeking the Premier's office - and possible routes to that office - and neither one mentioned the possibility that he would seek the leadership of the Alberta Alliance to assist him in his quest. According to Corbella and Levant, the only credible strategies would be (i) to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, or (ii) start a new party. Neither of them lend any credence to the Alberta Alliance's self-proclaimed status as a government-in-waiting.
Perhaps it's time for Alberta Alliance members to admit that their party simply doesn't factor in to the thought processes of any serious politicial commentator.
