David Swann was recently elected as the new leader of the Liberal Party of Alberta. I’d been a fan of Swann for some time, even though he was not my pick for leader, because I think that he brings a perspective to Albertan politics that was lacking. Mind you, there are a lot of perspectives that are lacking from Albertan political discourse, so I’m not really sure that this makes him stand out, in retrospect.
I was a supporter of Dave Taylor in the leadership race. I have to say that I’m surprised that he lost. From what I’d heard, there was a great ground game for the Taylor Campaign, but the votes that had been identified failed to materialize.
The Alberta Liberal Party, in its current form, is not really representative of the people of its province. The fact that the Tories have over twenty eight times the amount of members voting in their leadership elections is troubling, and shows that the ALP needs to drastically change in order to be effective. I think that the New Liberal initiative, the brainchild of a number of people in the Alberta Liberal community that I really respect, would be a good one to peruse. However, it’s only good if we emerge with a party that people can relate to.
I don’t think that people are going to be able to get behind Swann. I don’t even know that I would be able to, if I still lived in Alberta. For one thing, it is really troubling when, in your first major interview, you start musing about raising taxes and creating new ones in the middle of an economic slowdown.
In order to get more people behind the party, the party has to broaden its traditional coalition. This coalition appears to consist of some portions of new Albertans, Calgarians who are pissed off at Ed Stelmach for not acknowledging the magnificence of their city, and people who will always vote Liberal no matter what. This is not good enough. For one thing, there really cannot be a win without some level of support in rural Alberta. Maybe we won’t be able to win seats there in the immediate next election, but that doesn’t meant that we should stop trying.
It seems to me that the Liberals were counting on extreme and moderate right parties that were not the PCs chipping away at the PC coalition and allowing enough Liberal MLAs to come up the middle to form either government (a long shot) or a strong and active opposition. Instead, people stayed home, and the Liberals were whomped. To prevent subsequent whompings, we needed to become a party of the sensible centre, one that people could actually see as the government. I hate to say it, but I don’t really think that someone who refers to our rivers as “the arteries of mother earth” is going to resonate with Albertans, no matter how technically true it might be.
Then again, sometimes it is best to talk with a well-reasoned voice from the moderate center (not the Alberta center) to try to bring discussion back towards that end of the spectrum. If all Alberta parties keep slanting towards the right, they only substantiate and justify Alberta going even FURTHER right. If the public continues to perceive that the right is the ONLY voice for them, and the only right choice, then it is a slow torturous death for democracy in Alberta.
It may hurt to stick to true liberal principles and battle it out, but after living in Alberta for almost 8 years, I have to say, the party there was never “left of center”. They were in fact, one of the most right wing “liberal” parties in Canada (BC being the other one). Effectively airing liberal viewpoints will be key to success. The other key is the gradual downward spiral of the oil industry (sad as that is for AB). Big Oil brings “big oil politics”, and that is what Alberta has – like Texas, Colorado, Alaska, Wyoming, Saudi Arabia, etc..
Give it a few years, and when people in Alberta need their government to provide for them, they will “discover” other politics. Until then… keep fighting the good fight – AND keep it Liberal.
WesternGrit: Texas, at least, changes governments once in a while.
There’s such a thing as leading from too far out in front. I think a more sensible course would be to meet Albertans where they live. Campaign from the right, govern from the left.
Problem is, it’s not that the party isn’t winnable. This is probably the case either way. It’s that I don’t actually agree with many of the things that Swann wants to do – Oilsands development moratorium, or a SALES TAX?! This isn’t a party that believes in things that I do anymore, so for right of centre Liberals like me (I support the BC Liberals as well – I’m actually the President of one of their clubs), I feel without an ideological home in this province.
I was sure that Taylor would win. He’d also have the name recognition and ability to connect with ordinary Canadians (his talk show on radio was extremely popular).
Nothing against Swann, but he is the kind of guy that rubs the average Albertan the wrong way (e.g., when he recently mused about eliminating the flat tax — what an inane proposition — and other tax increases). A two-year-old could have told the good DOCTOR that this sort of nonsense wouldn’t fly in Alberta — even among Liberals in the province.
The tragedy is that Alberta desperately needs, and many Alberta want, an effective opposition, and – dare I say it – maybe even a new party in power.
So long as “liberal” is defined as “left-leaning”, the LPA will never be that party. A competent centrist organization is the only thing that will fly in Alberta.
[...] 8, 2009 by Matthew Naylor Soon, we will be ‘celebrating’ Dr. David Swann’s seventh month as Liberal leader. As surprised as I was that he could win the race, and as dissapointed as I was that Dave Taylor [...]
[...] 8, 2009 by Matthew Naylor Soon, we will be ‘celebrating’ Dr. David Swann’s seventh month as Liberal leader. As surprised as I was that he could win the race, and as dissapointed as I was that Dave Taylor [...]