End of an Era?

Back in November, when it seemed like the Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership race was down to a choice between Jim Dinning or Ted Morton, I opined that the only choice the Tories really had was 'where to take the bullet, urban or rural.' When Stelmach came up the middle the PCs chose urban.

When Dinning lost, the Calgary Conservative MLAs, who had backed him to a man, showed every sign of panic. My riding's MLA, then solicitor general Harvey Cenaiko made a hasty decision to promote the new Premier's son within the Sheriff's department. It didn't go well for him and he's no longer solicitor general. With no hope of ever leaving the back-benches in a Stelmach government Cenaiko has jumped on the angry Calgary bandwagon.

Full disclosure, I ran against Harvey in the last provicial election, an election which he won by about 600 votes - I got considerably less if you're wondering.

I've lived in Calgary during boom and bust. I vastly prefer bust. Like most people who actually live here and aren't working in an executive office, my standard of living has dropped like a rock - my paycheck gets pinched by rent and other cost of living prices more and more every month and the straining infrastructure and big city population pressure in a mid sized city environment is beginning to erode the city's very real charms. No wonder that many respond to indications the boom may be slowing with a sigh of relief.

People are angry and getting angrier. The Alberta Advantage always a slightly more exclusive promise than as advertised on the bottle, is cited now with a bitter ironic undertone. People in Calgary who wonder if their landlord plans to double their rent next month listened to Premier Ed and his country bear cabinet sneering at the idea of rent control and scowled.

When the Strom - sorry the Stelmach administration - blandly broke their promise of no strings funding for the cities, they expected no fall out. They were used to mayors who knew their place in the big blue machine and when to say 'thank you sir, may I have another.' Instead Mayor Dave 'Bronco' Bronconnier publicly and repeatedly ripped into the provincial government and the media joined him. And now according to the polls, so has the urban Alberta public.

Now the PCs stare into the starkly real possibility of losing Ralph Klein's old riding in Calgary Elbow.

Strange times in the one party state.

See: Ralph Klein's old riding