So the Wildrose party collapsed and the Progressive Conservatives won a majority. And now you want to know what I think. Well okay.
1 BOO BIGOTS, HISS DUMMIES Turns out that most Albertans in 2012 don’t want to be represented by a political party full of idiots who say things like white people make better politicians and gay people are going to hell. Oh and of course, that human-caused climate change might not be real. Right. Did Wildrose hold a mirror up to Albertans and show them a reflection that disgusted them? The only candidate of the those three who won their seat was party leader Danielle Smith–and that race was close–9,894 votes to PC candidate John Barlow’s 8,056.
2 THE MULCAIR FACTOR The NDP went from two seats to four and got nearly 10 per cent of the votes, edging out the Liberals. How much of this provincial support reflects approval of the NDP’s recent choice of Thomas Mulcair as the party’s leader? I wonder.
3 ALBERTANS AREN’T AS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH CENTRIST POLITICS AS PEOPLE THINK. MAYBE. There’ll be more than a few columns written about how Premier Alison Redford’s victory is a win for conservatives who like the “progressive” part of the party and for Albertans in the political centre (2012 version, that is). Well, good, I guess, but the main reason for Wildrose’s collapse was the fact they’re spooky and kooky.
4 SPEAKING OF… I would love to see the briefing notes Stephen Harper’s getting on this election. Not an expert but I’m pretty sure the Alberta PCs are now entrenched to the left of the federal Conservatives. Betcha they’re to the left of the Saskatchewan Party, too.
5 ALBERTANS HAVE CONTEMPT FOR DEMOCRACY (OR MAYBE DEMOCRACY HAS CONTEMPT FOR THEM?) UPDATE: Okay, I guess it wasn’t that close. CBC reports 57 per cent of eligible Albertans voted, the best turnout since 1993. ORIGINAL: This election didn’t have the worst turnout in Alberta ever but it was close. The Edmonton Journal’s not-final count is 42 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots. Since the PC’s won a majority with less than half the vote, the system does look rigged. I’d really like to see an alternative voting system where voters could pick their top three choices. Proportional representation should also be looked at. Too many people know their votes don’t count. Time to fix this.
6 OH AND OF COURSE, HEALTH CARE People like me paid a lot of attention to the Wildrose party’s loopy social conservative outbursts but I wonder if Smith’s promise to bring in more private-sector health care didn’t hurt them badly.
