It’s over, let’s get down to governing

BY JOHN MATHER

Well that’s over with.

After several weeks of campaigning, Albertans spoke clearly on May 29 and said they wanted the UCP to continue governing this province.

Many pundits said it was a hard fought campaign with NDP leader Rachel Notley and UCP Leader Danielle Smith sparring over issues such as education and healthcare.

Actually to me it was more a battle of which leader did you trust more and how much BS could one side sling against the other.

Throughout most of the campaign, polls of various types showed the race would be close coming down to battleground Calgary to decide the champion.

So now it’s over. A UCP majority.

It was a vote against the NDP, who refused to discuss their record from when they were the government. Albertans remembered that time and didn’t want to go through it again.

Now, will Rachel Notley take a walk in the woods and tell her union buddies she’s done?

Who will replace her?

Well, some have speculated that one or two of her former cabinet colleagues could take a shot at the top job.

I rather doubt that because one of the NDP’s primary weaknesses in this last election was the lack of strength of its candidates.

Woke lefties rallying on about defunding the police, or wanting to spend more money that they can only get from additional taxation, or those who have proudly marched in Communist parades and speak highly of communist regimes are not the people I would want to see leading the party.

But former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi came out loudly supporting Notley last week.

In his early 50s, he has an ego large enough to seek the party leadership. It would be interesting to see how his decisive style would clash with the NDP head honcho Jagmeet Singh.

Continued

But Nenshi turned Calgary sharply to the left, raised business taxes driving business out of the city and did all those neat things socialists like to do. Plus he has name recognition.

Perhaps north Edmontonion Thomas Lukaszuk may turn from a career in gaslighting to take a shot at the NDP leadership.

He has certainly turned away from being a conservative and he would likely cave to the direction Singh would want him to take.

Yes, he would be a disaster for Alberta so maybe he’d be a strong leadership contender for the NDP.

I wonder if the NDP will speak with all media outlets now the election is over?

And now that Danielle Smith has been given a mandate by Albertans, will the provincial mainstream media try to work with her or will they continue to bash her much in the way U.S media demonizes everything Donald Trump does?

Please note: Danielle Smith is not Donald Trump. Will we see some of the recommendations of the fair deal panel resurrected? Some such as a provincial pension plan and a provincial police force were scuttled for the election, but now they could resurface and face serious discussion among Albertans.

Will we get a government that promotes responsible, practical economic polices, or one that promotes victimization and delights in calling Albertans systematic racists similar to what our Federal Liberal government does. And will we now have a strong government willing to stand up to the Feds, who want to intrude into our jurisdiction wherever they please.

The UCP has been given a mandate of four years. Use these four years wisely but respect all Albertans. Be transparent to Albertans.

Smith has a good squad from which to choose a cabinet. Make it a smaller cabinet based on governing effectively and efficiently. Continue to reduce red tape.

Explore alternative energy sources such as modular nuclear plants that could power our cities. Fight to move liquid natural gas to tidewater for export, to market in the world that are crying out for it.

By Hazel Anaka

By the time you read this, we will have survived another election. There may or may not be a new governing party. Heck, there may even be a minority government, which would be a first in Alberta history. No one I know stuck their neck out predicting a winner. The last polling I saw showed the leading parties running neck and neck and almost a fifth of eligible voters undecided. Many people were in a quandary as to what to do. The downside of that indecision is that people stay home and do nothing. As it is, voter turnout is nothing to crow about at any government level and at any time. So, my hope is that you took the time to vote. The timing of elections is never perfect but with the ability to vote at any advance poll in the province in the days leading up to election day, ample opportunities existed to make it easy. Election workers are