Election Day has come and gone in Alberta. It looked, as the vote count began, as though it might be a disaster, with the extreme right wing party - Wildrose - winning a majority of seats. In the end, however, the Progressive Conservatives - right wing, but more centrist - pulled off a strong majority. So Alberta continues to have a Conservative government, 41 consecutive years and counting.
Asa life long New Democrat, I never believed I would say this: I'm relieved that the PCs won a majority. I was actually hoping for a minority, so the Progressive parties (ND, Liberal and Alberta Parties) might have more clout in the House. However, a raucous (though small - 17) Wildrose opposition will keep salient issues on the front page of most papers. The PCs know that if they fail to meet the expectations of the significant numbers of Wildrose supporters, in the next election - four years away - they will be swept away for sure. The Wildrose rural people are not shy about speaking out, and I suspect that they will call a spade a spade over the next two or three years. The PCs may well have to amend some of their bills or they will be setting themselves up for a tumble next time around.
The Wildrose were born out of a rural concern for the draconian land use bills the PCs were pushing through the House. The impact of these bills meant that land could be expropriated and/or used, for power lines, oil leases, etc without the landowner having to be consulted. The final bill, "Bill 50," even barred landowners from access to the courts to slow the process down. During the election campaign, every party except the PCs vowed to repeal these laws. It remains to be seen how the PCs will use their majority on this issue. The Wildrose elected two or three people who are expert on this issue and who will make their lives hell in the Legislature. I hope!
Once again I experienced the desperate moves made by TV media to keep people watching their channel as results come in. With only a few polls counted, some stations declare a candidate elected! CTV was way out in front on this activity. I suspect this is done to keep people watching during the hour or two before there are any meaningful results, when one candidate surges ahead and then falls back. It seems uncanny that they are so often on the mark with that process. We had CTV on one set, and CBC on the other. CBC was careful to say that they were waiting for more conclusive results before declaring. On the one hand, I think it's presumptuous that the networks leap ahead with their predictions. On the other hand, they want to keep us engaged, and this in one way to do it.
We watched the results with our candidate and his supporters and family, so we heard some juicy political gossip during the evening. It was our first experience of watching results in this way. I'd do it again; it gives one a sense of solidarity with like-minded people at a tense moment in time.
Asa life long New Democrat, I never believed I would say this: I'm relieved that the PCs won a majority. I was actually hoping for a minority, so the Progressive parties (ND, Liberal and Alberta Parties) might have more clout in the House. However, a raucous (though small - 17) Wildrose opposition will keep salient issues on the front page of most papers. The PCs know that if they fail to meet the expectations of the significant numbers of Wildrose supporters, in the next election - four years away - they will be swept away for sure. The Wildrose rural people are not shy about speaking out, and I suspect that they will call a spade a spade over the next two or three years. The PCs may well have to amend some of their bills or they will be setting themselves up for a tumble next time around.
The Wildrose were born out of a rural concern for the draconian land use bills the PCs were pushing through the House. The impact of these bills meant that land could be expropriated and/or used, for power lines, oil leases, etc without the landowner having to be consulted. The final bill, "Bill 50," even barred landowners from access to the courts to slow the process down. During the election campaign, every party except the PCs vowed to repeal these laws. It remains to be seen how the PCs will use their majority on this issue. The Wildrose elected two or three people who are expert on this issue and who will make their lives hell in the Legislature. I hope!
Once again I experienced the desperate moves made by TV media to keep people watching their channel as results come in. With only a few polls counted, some stations declare a candidate elected! CTV was way out in front on this activity. I suspect this is done to keep people watching during the hour or two before there are any meaningful results, when one candidate surges ahead and then falls back. It seems uncanny that they are so often on the mark with that process. We had CTV on one set, and CBC on the other. CBC was careful to say that they were waiting for more conclusive results before declaring. On the one hand, I think it's presumptuous that the networks leap ahead with their predictions. On the other hand, they want to keep us engaged, and this in one way to do it.
We watched the results with our candidate and his supporters and family, so we heard some juicy political gossip during the evening. It was our first experience of watching results in this way. I'd do it again; it gives one a sense of solidarity with like-minded people at a tense moment in time.
No comments:
Post a Comment