Rick Bell -
CALGARY SUN
Yesterday
© Provided by Calgary Sun
© Provided by Calgary Sun
Jason Kenney makes remarks to media and Alberta government cabinet members prior to a meeting in Calgary on Friday, May 20, 2022.
Not Kenney as in actually running against Premier Jason Kenney in the UCP leadership race.
The premier-on-the-way-out-the-door says he’s not running to keep his job after getting support from ever-so-slightly more than half the voters in a UCP ballot on his leadership.
The field is now wide open for those who think they can put the UCP Humpty Dumpty back together again.
There are a lot of people kicking tires as we now all witness Kenney’s Long Goodbye.
The Kenney crowd seems to like Travis Toews, the budget boss and right-hand man to the premier.
I would think an endorsement from the Kenney crowd would be the kiss of death but what do I know?
What I do know is, like former premier Ralph Klein who ran to replace the exiting former premier Don Getty and said often and loudly how he was not Don Getty, those wrestling for the top slot have to tell us how a government they lead will be different from the one led by Kenney.
No matter how much the premier’s people are in denial, the buck stops with Kenney.
When I say they have to run against Kenney, this doesn’t mean there has to be a personal piling on the premier or a sliming of the efforts the premier did make to do the right thing.
But Albertans need to hear how a government led by someone else will be a break from a UCP status quo, a same-old, same-old, that could lead to an NDP election victory next spring.
As a wise political thinker says: They have to own the problem. And there’s no shame in that. It’s actually a strength.
So will the government’s trademark arrogance be relegated to the dustbin of history?
Will we see a government of the people and not a government telling people, lecturing people, on what’s good for them?
Will we get a government where out-of-touch insiders DO NOT run the show and where at least many of those near the premier have a sense of Alberta politics, of what makes this province tick?
Will we see a government where what is advertised is what is delivered?
Don’t fake it or you won’t make it. If you say it’s important to stay humble then, damn it, stay humble.
If you campaign as one of us, you better be one of us. We can spot a phony.
And, when you make a mistake, realize you’ve stepped in the Land of Stupid as we all do, fess up and reverse course.
In other words, will we see a UCP government with a new leader give itself a thorough political cleanse, an XXXL attitude adjustment?
Or, to repeat a well-worn phrase, will they just rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic and try to convince us it’s clear sailing?
Every day in every way Kenney and company recite their laundry list of glad tidings.
Jobs, investment, balanced budget, COVID in the rear-view mirror, win in the Alberta Court of Appeal on Ottawa’s No More Pipelines law.
High oil prices!
With all their good news, does the Kenney government ever wonder for a nanosecond why the premier is still so unpopular?
There can’t be that many lunatics in Alberta.
The answer is those in the highest reaches of the UCP government appear to show no appetite for self-reflection.
If you are waiting for a moment of clarity, you better take a number.
They look outward. Kenney is a victim of folks too angry or too stupid to comprehend his greatness.
By the way, this is the line of the self-styled conservative smart set from central Canada, no doubt nursing their single malt scotch in their favourite Ottawa establishment.
Kenney was their shining star and he fell to earth and Albertans didn’t appreciate him or he wasn’t conservative enough or conservatives like beating each other up.
One thing is certain. By their reckoning, none of it was about Kenney.
In Alberta, plenty of us know the truth but who asks us.
Among readers, the Kenney diehards are upset.
Some want Wildrosers to be bounced. That would split the UCP. I told this to someone in the NDP and they seemed quite pleased.
Some want the press, including yours truly, to stop reporting when the government slips in the doo-doo.
They want more rewriting of government press releases as long as the government has the word Conservative in their name.
Some say Kenney’s demise is the fault of newshounds. (Hi, mom!)
In this scribbler’s case, I pointed out in many columns where the Kenney government could go in a better direction, handing them a lifeline to reality.
They didn’t listen. Fair ball. They’re in charge.
But it’s hardly then my fault or the fault of others sounding the alarm when they suffer the consequences from Albertans.
rbell@postmedia.com
Not Kenney as in actually running against Premier Jason Kenney in the UCP leadership race.
The premier-on-the-way-out-the-door says he’s not running to keep his job after getting support from ever-so-slightly more than half the voters in a UCP ballot on his leadership.
The field is now wide open for those who think they can put the UCP Humpty Dumpty back together again.
There are a lot of people kicking tires as we now all witness Kenney’s Long Goodbye.
The Kenney crowd seems to like Travis Toews, the budget boss and right-hand man to the premier.
I would think an endorsement from the Kenney crowd would be the kiss of death but what do I know?
What I do know is, like former premier Ralph Klein who ran to replace the exiting former premier Don Getty and said often and loudly how he was not Don Getty, those wrestling for the top slot have to tell us how a government they lead will be different from the one led by Kenney.
No matter how much the premier’s people are in denial, the buck stops with Kenney.
When I say they have to run against Kenney, this doesn’t mean there has to be a personal piling on the premier or a sliming of the efforts the premier did make to do the right thing.
But Albertans need to hear how a government led by someone else will be a break from a UCP status quo, a same-old, same-old, that could lead to an NDP election victory next spring.
As a wise political thinker says: They have to own the problem. And there’s no shame in that. It’s actually a strength.
So will the government’s trademark arrogance be relegated to the dustbin of history?
Will we see a government of the people and not a government telling people, lecturing people, on what’s good for them?
Will we get a government where out-of-touch insiders DO NOT run the show and where at least many of those near the premier have a sense of Alberta politics, of what makes this province tick?
Will we see a government where what is advertised is what is delivered?
Don’t fake it or you won’t make it. If you say it’s important to stay humble then, damn it, stay humble.
If you campaign as one of us, you better be one of us. We can spot a phony.
And, when you make a mistake, realize you’ve stepped in the Land of Stupid as we all do, fess up and reverse course.
In other words, will we see a UCP government with a new leader give itself a thorough political cleanse, an XXXL attitude adjustment?
Or, to repeat a well-worn phrase, will they just rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic and try to convince us it’s clear sailing?
Every day in every way Kenney and company recite their laundry list of glad tidings.
Jobs, investment, balanced budget, COVID in the rear-view mirror, win in the Alberta Court of Appeal on Ottawa’s No More Pipelines law.
High oil prices!
With all their good news, does the Kenney government ever wonder for a nanosecond why the premier is still so unpopular?
There can’t be that many lunatics in Alberta.
The answer is those in the highest reaches of the UCP government appear to show no appetite for self-reflection.
If you are waiting for a moment of clarity, you better take a number.
They look outward. Kenney is a victim of folks too angry or too stupid to comprehend his greatness.
By the way, this is the line of the self-styled conservative smart set from central Canada, no doubt nursing their single malt scotch in their favourite Ottawa establishment.
Kenney was their shining star and he fell to earth and Albertans didn’t appreciate him or he wasn’t conservative enough or conservatives like beating each other up.
One thing is certain. By their reckoning, none of it was about Kenney.
In Alberta, plenty of us know the truth but who asks us.
Among readers, the Kenney diehards are upset.
Some want Wildrosers to be bounced. That would split the UCP. I told this to someone in the NDP and they seemed quite pleased.
Some want the press, including yours truly, to stop reporting when the government slips in the doo-doo.
They want more rewriting of government press releases as long as the government has the word Conservative in their name.
Some say Kenney’s demise is the fault of newshounds. (Hi, mom!)
In this scribbler’s case, I pointed out in many columns where the Kenney government could go in a better direction, handing them a lifeline to reality.
They didn’t listen. Fair ball. They’re in charge.
But it’s hardly then my fault or the fault of others sounding the alarm when they suffer the consequences from Albertans.
rbell@postmedia.com
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