Calgary Elbow: Results of the Ederendum

This article is full of interesting tid-bits:

Liberal Leader Kevin Taft said while some may view the by-election result as a “protest vote” against Mr. Stelmach and his young government, he’s convinced “it’s a lot bigger than that.”

“It’s the opening up of Alberta politics to other options, which is the norm in every other province,” he said.

Why is it that Kevin Taft, even in the best of circumstances, cannot manage to say a single thing right. Talking about how he’s going to bring Alberta into “the norm” that is represented by the other provinces. Quite the selling point.

“Tonight marks the end of the Klein era. It’s over,” said Keith Brownsey, a political scientist at Calgary’s Mount Royal College.

He said that in urban centres such as Calgary, Mr. Klein’s absence will “put a lot of ridings in play” during the next general election. It isn’t expected to be called until the spring of 2008 at the earliest.

For once, Brownsey is right. Even when Klein was leader in the last election, the Liberals picked up three Calgary seats. Two of them were in dynamic inner-city neighbourhoods where there are still Tory MLAs. With Stelmach in charge, I don’t see how any of these MLAs (including, unfortunately, Harvey Cenaiko) can hope to survive. And, as Cheffins has demonstrated, the suburbs are no longer safe for the Tories, either.

During the campaign in Calgary-Elbow, Mr. Heninger went out of his way to distance himself from the Premier.

“Hardly anybody knows the Premier and I’ve had to convince a lot of undecided and unhappy Conservatives,” the first-time candidate told the Calgary Sun.

Ouch.

A few days before Tuesday’s vote, the Tory party began pulling out all the stops to keep the riding from falling into Liberal hands for the first time. Mr. Stelmach was dispatched to Calgary and $1.25-billion for a new hospital in south Calgary was reannounced. Mr. Heninger also received help from several senior Tory strategists and Jim Dinning, a failed Tory leadership hopeful.

The new hospital was one of the most transparent ploys I’ve ever seen in Alberta politics. Addressing infrastructure problems in Calgary is one thing; building a brand new hospital quite another. The spending spree might have alienated a significant number of voters.

Not only is Jim Dinning a loser, he also can’t spot a loser. Unlike…..

However, one person who didn’t hit the hustings for Mr. Heninger was Mr. Klein. “I’m out of politics,” he told a reporter.

Love him or hate him (and I mostly hate him), the man’s political instincts are still well-honed.

It’s hard not to imagine that Alberta is approaching one of its (very) rare changes in government. Unfortunately for Craig Cheffins, it won’t be a Liberal government that results. Which makes me wonder if and when certain Tory stars will begin jumping off Ed’s ship.