Dear Editor,
There has been lots of talk that in the next few weeks an Alberta provincial election will be called, a year before the PCs mandate runs out.
Premier Prentice's comments about "looking in the mirror" to see who's responsible for what has happened to the Alberta economy has caused a province-wide reaction. For a politician noted for his measured reactions, the comments sent off a verbal explosion.
One would have hoped that with his well practiced lawyerly skills, the premier could have acknowledged that the party that he heads could have leveraged fiscal policy decades earlier in a proactive way. He could also have recognized that a new era of fiscal management needs to be created.
With many of the Wildrose party co-opted and the Liberals facing a leadership convention next year, it is unclear what opposition will be elected to stop the steamrolling of legislation without meaningful debate or discussion.
It would be sad if Premier Prentice takes a page out of the federal Conservatives’ playbook and caters to specific interests to maintain power, despite reasonable alternatives and evidence- based information.
Hopefully, he sees beyond mere political interests and opportunism and recognizes that there are vulnerable individuals and families who might not be important political players, but whose shoes any one of us could end up in.
That will be the criteria by which the next government will be judged.
George Jason