Wildrose Party

A last thought for 2012: 2013 is bound to be important for Alberta's NDP

| December 30, 2012

Surely the strategic goal of Alberta's New Democrats between now and the next provincial election must be to move the NDP from being the fourth party in the Legislature to the second one after 2016.

In other words, although an NDP government in Alberta is simply not in the cards over the medium term, the NDP could form the Opposition in 2016 if the party's Legislative caucus is dealt the right cards in the next round of the great game of political poker … and manages to play them the right way.

The Stephen Harper model for Wildrose power: Promise free votes and deliver the Borg Hive

David J. Climenhaga

| December 19, 2012

Alberta's Wildrose Party blossomed at the edges of the same muddy spring whence sprang the federal Reform Party of Preston Manning and Stephen Harper.

As is well known, the Reform Party went on to engineer the hostile takeover in 2003 of the old Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, after renaming but not successfully re-branding itself as the Canadian Alliance.

By this mechanism the Reform Party evolved over a short time from a populist Prairie uprising into the most autocratic and secretive government in Canadian history, including wartime governments, under Harper's mailed fist.

Pollster's take on Alberta leaders' popularity sets stage for long Prairie slug-fest

David Climenhaga

| December 18, 2012

Change the conversation, support rabble.ca today.

Alison Redford remains Canada's second most popular premier behind Saskatchewan's Brad Wall, who after months at a steady 67-per-cent level of belovedness is the unquestioned Mr. Congeniality of Confederation, according to the Vancouver-based Angus Reid Public Opinion polling company.

Attack on Kent Hehr highlights deepening fissures in Alberta Liberal ranks

David J. Climenhaga

| December 17, 2012

An angry and public attack last week on Liberal MLA Kent Hehr by Alberta Liberal Party President Todd Van Vliet suggests the party's caucus is splintering under the leadership of former Progressive Conservative Raj Sherman.

Docs call health minister liar, liar, scrubs on fire, but their ad fails to persuade

David J. Climenhaga

| December 5, 2012

The Alberta Medical Association, the province's most powerful trade union, has gone back to the familiar ground of buying newspaper advertisements to call Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne and the Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Alison Redford a bunch of liars.

The provincial physicians' association and bargaining agent used slightly more moderate language in their advert -- which showed up in several Alberta daily newspapers yesterday -- but what else can they really mean when they say, "on April 23, 2012, the government of Alberta misled Alberta’s 11,000 physicians, medical residents and medical students"?

Wildrose leader to Albertans: You're gullible and stupid!

David J. Climenhaga

| November 25, 2012

Despite an amusing Pierre Poutine moment before it started, the Wildrose Party's one-day annual general meeting in Edmonton yesterday seems to have gone swimmingly for Leader Danielle Smith, whose key messages were transmitted uncritically by media and apparently accepted in a similar spirit by members.

Reading between the lines of the media coverage, Smith's three main points to her right-wing supporters were as follows:

1) Bozo eruptions by bad candidates, not Wildrose policies, caused the party's election loss on April 23

2) Nothing substantive in the Wildrose economic agenda needs to change, but the party may have to be sneakier about some of its members' social conservative views

Alberta health minister to doctors: Shut up and take your medicine!

David J. Climenhaga

| November 17, 2012

When Alberta's most powerful union -- the Alberta Medical Association, which until yesterday represented the province’s 8,250 physicians in fee negotiations with the province -- slammed the government of Premier Alison Redford just a few days before the April 23 provincial election, they really should have thought about the potential reaction they might get.

Yesterday, they got it. Health Minister Fred Horne told the docs, in effect: Here's your medicine. It won't taste very good. Swallow it anyway and call me in the morning!

Is a Wildrose 'coup d'etat' in the works? Not very likely

David J. Climenhaga

| November 13, 2012

Political Alberta was abuzz yesterday with a mystery video suggesting there is growing discord within Alberta's Wildrose Party over the role of Opposition Leader Danielle Smith that surfaced on a French video service, where it was revealed by a blogger.

The anonymously posted video entitled simply "Wildrose Internals" suggested the Wildrose Party is suffering from a rift between its social conservative wing and its more mainstream leadership.

Alberta Tories send feds a message, but keep their most dangerous enemies close

David J. Climenhaga

| November 11, 2012

Proving you really can have it both ways, Premier Alison Redford's Alberta Tories rapped the knuckles of their federal counterparts yesterday but kept their most dangerous enemies, members of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Wild Rose Country caucus, where they can keep an eye on them.

Redford Government insiders were furious so many of their federal brethren, including several prominent Alberta MPs, openly backed the market-fundamentalist Wildrose Party led by Danielle Smith in last spring's provincial general election, which despite the premier's comfortable majority once the dust had settled was a close-run thing.

Tip for Tories: A grown-up conversation about debt will pay political dividends

David J. Climenhaga

| November 9, 2012

As Alberta's Tories gather today in Calgary to celebrate Peter Lougheed leading them out of the Social Credit wilderness 41 years ago, they will expend plenty of energy feuding over disinviting their federal Conservative brethren from future affairs of this nature.

In the past, federal Conservatives have been automatically entitled to vast votes at Alberta Progressive Conservative bunfests like the Cowtown annual general meeting today and tomorrow.

But so many of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Alberta caucus tilted openly in favour of the radically market-fundamentalist Wild Rosehip Tea Party during last April's provincial election that moves are afoot to sever the ties that bound.

Wildrose Party

Top Picks On rabble