Ed Stelmach is the new Premiere of Alberta for better or worse. Certainly was not my first choice nor was he my last. He ran straight up the middle the entire race and won. Don't get me wrong, Ed is a fine man, this I have no doubt about. He is down to earth, hard working and a typical Albertan if there is one. The question I have is, and its a dosey... Is ED Stelmach a strong leader? I sure did not get that impression when I listened to his acceptance speech in the early morning hours here in Edmonton. He sounded very timid and somewhat shy. Not quite the qualities we need in a leader that must face off with the big boys in Ottawa. Perhaps he was being humble and was probably in a state of shock that he actually won this thing. Perhaps staying up most of the night fixing the furnace in his house the night before had some effect on him as well. One thing I am very sure of, Eddy is no Ralph! Perhaps that is a good thing as well. We needed a change, and we sure got a big one. Congratulations Premiere Stelmach, I hope and pray you are up to the task you have taken upon yourself and we the people of Alberta have given to you. The eyes of the country are now focused squarely on you. Make that the eyes of the world, as this province is a treasure chest that all would love to have a part of. You must defend and protect that treasure. The people, the land, the environment and all its resources, they are yours to watch over.
He is an animal lover, so he has to be a NICE guy!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Nice guy finishes first
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14 comments:
Have to agree with you, he sure seems to be a little wimpy, and hopefully they don't stomp on him, but it's a heck of a lot better then Dinning.
ABF... Wimpy is not something I personally would call anyone who has opperated a farm of any kind. I am sure he is a strong man with strong principals. He just did not come across that way in his speech. If that is how he comes across when speeking at all times, I am worried that he will fade into the background as others will talk all over him.
Hi Tim
Thanks for the updates at SDA and your thoughts above. Your posting is actually very well done, almost better than his acceptance speech.
Yes, hopefully he is just tired and humbled by being chosen, but will stand up for Joe Albertan.
Maybe having Ted Morton on his team will help.
cheers
tom
Tom... thanks for popping in. I do what I can.
"Your posting is actually very well done, almost better than his acceptance speech." Not sure if that is a compliment or not, did you fall asleep while reading it? If not then I guess I did okay.
Standing up for "Joe Albertan" is all we can ask of Eddy.
I hope he takes advantage of some of Mortons knowledge and brings him into the fold of his cabinet. Not sure that will happen though. Me thinks Eddy might owe a few to many other folks that privaledge. Time will tell on all accounts.
"Me thinks Eddy might owe a few to many other folks that privaledge."
That worries me - how many deals did he make with the MLAs that backed him?
Just guessing Candace..but as far as most politicians go...they don't back another just because he is a "nice guy". There had to be some deals struck. Its just how the system works. How many is a very good question. How his cabinet shapes up will reveal the deals he made in short order.
Were you there last night? I was,for about an hour. I left around 10/10:30 as I had my daughter with me & she was getting (a) bored and (b) claustrophobic with the crowd. I got to meet Marco of Civitatensis & his wife (and then try to explain to my daughter why it's okay for ME to meet someone I only know from the internet and not her; still working on a good argument other than "because I'm an adult and you're not" - any advice?)
Nope was not there. Stayed home and tried to stay up to date from our lovely media...that was a trick let me tell ya. Bouncing from website to website, radio station to radio station, tv station to tv station. You would get the impression that this was not an important event for Alberta from the media's point of view.
That is quite the dilema with your daughter. Perhaps if you went at it from a differnt angle. You did not go there to specifically meet these "strangers" but to take in the event that was happening there. Meeting these people was secondary. Re-enforce the fact that it was in a very public place with many people around. Not sure if this helps but is all I can think of at this moment.
The people of Alberta did not vote Ed as Premier, two minute Tories did. If he is to really be Premier he must call and election.
So the 144,000 2 minute tories are not the people of Alberta? Who are they then? People of BC?, Quebec?, Saskatchewan?, Ontario perhaps? The fact that anyone that wished to fork out 5 bucks to vote no matter their political leanings has slipped by you. If only 144,000 wished to do so is not my problem. Those who took the time and put in the effort have spoken, just like in any election. It obviously was not important enough for the rest of the people of the province. Before you start ranting about a typical conservative, may I point out that I voted for my current MLA, David Eggen, a member of the NDP. I am by no means a card carrying member of that party however. Party politics is not something I particularly like. I vote for the person in my constituency that more closely represents my views at the time and the person I feel best suited to do that job. The party they belong to is secondary at best.
When you think about it, it IS rather sad that only 144k Albertans thought it was worth $5 to have a say. What's that, about 2% of the population? Yikes.
Just did the math Candace... using Stats can 2006 population by age 15 and over = 2,738,300 and the 144,000 reported voting numbers, I know this is very rough...but it works out to close to 5% of eligible voters. Compare that to the 44.7% turnout for the 2004 election according to the Elections Alberta web site.
I just find it mindboggling that so few people got "involved" (like going to a polling station & putting an "x" in a circle/box/whatever is getting involved, for crying out loud).
5% is probably more accurate than 2% but is still pretty damn low. Especially when we know full well that the other 95% will be b*tching and complaining 'til the cows come home over some issue or other.
No arguments from me there Candace. Maybe the other 95% could not aford the $5 membership fee or just did not have the time? It tis the season to spend money foolishly ya know. Do You think the 55.3% that did not bother to vote the last election, don't bitch and complain? I rather doubt that. Apathy is what seems to define Canada/Canadians, not to mention very short memories when it comes to politics.
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