Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Alberta PC Leadership - A 'Magical Mystery Tour'

Let me take you back in time in our lovely country called Canada; A time when British Columbia was called ‘La La Land’; A time when it was not conceivable that a woman could be the Premier of Alberta; A time far, far away, no wait, that was only a couple of years ago.

Since then, Alberta has assumed the mantle of ‘La La Land’, what with all the shenanigans that have taken place here with provincial politics. A woman did become Premier and from the beginning was under stress from her own caucus, the media and subsequently her Party. However, let’s not forget she added fuel to the fire with mishandled communications related to her personal behavior, but all in all, the Province ran rather well during her tenure from this person’s perspective.

Having said that, we are at a time, given the past few years, where we are allowed to think in more radical terms than the hum drum when it comes to politics, leaders and the future of Alberta.

So let me take you on a ‘Magical Mystery Tour’, grab your wine, pack your medical marijuana or use your free spirit to carry you along. I want you to open your mind, close your eyes and free your imagination. Are we ready? Here we go

First stop, the PC Party of Alberta, not a place for the feint of heart. The knives are out, not ready to be sheathed, recently used to destroy their old Premier, they flounder around seeking the Messiah. It’s quickly understood that no one within the caucus could possibly run, given the infighting and mistrust that exists within the Party and with Albertans in general. Outsiders being considered have all said no, are unlikely to run and/or cannot garner the support required to win.

Wait, I spoke too soon, on the horizon there appears a large man riding high in the saddle, coming towards us in a purple cloud of dust, a dark man with a toothy grin, can he be the Messiah they are looking for? We stop, consume our wine, our medical marijuana, induce our free spirit, open our imagination and seek a sign. After hours of machinations, dancing, singing, after all we are a fun group, we see a sign. A message being passed to all City Councilors at the City of Calgary advising Members an announcement will be coming in the next 7 to 10 days, they are advised to stay tuned but prepare for a major change.

Through our hallucinations, we see the future unfold as follows;

The large man with the toothy grin will announce his intention to seek the Leadership of the P C Party of Alberta. Initially, we find this to be an absurd notion, how can the Mayor of Calgary possibly become the Premier of Alberta? But we are on a ‘Magical Mystery Tour’, so we allow our senses to run away with us. The big question for the large man; Will the people of Alberta give him the adoring looks and unquestioned support the loyal citizens of Calgary afforded him these past 2 elections.

The move will free up the young man standing beside him to seek office on his own albeit at the higher level of Federal politics. Again, we are taken by the notion that the Chief of Staff of the Mayor of Calgary could possibly run for public office.

An older, wiser person on the ‘Tour’ reminds us of the Calgary Buffalo by-election in 1992 when the illustrious Rod Love, former Chief of Staff to Mayor Ralph Klein ran and came a distant 3rd against Gary Dickson. This was soon after the unfortunate death of Sheldon Chumir. It is believed that Rod is still holding onto his rear end that was handed to him by the well organized campaign. We trust this young man will fare significantly better than Mr. Love when he seeks the nomination in the Federal Riding of Calgary Centre in support of the Dauphin, JT.

Finally, we see a shorter, earnest young man with little hair encouraged by the events; He has visions of sugar plums dancing in his head. He is a fiscal conservative, holds the interest of the citizens in good stead and believes he has the ‘stuff’ to be the next Mayor of Calgary.

We begin to come out of our induced states of altered consciousness and wonder was this all a dream, what do you think?