The moral of the story?

'Whoever throws mud loses ground.'

I'm Still With Ed

This morning, despite a blistering headache, I went out and cast my ballot in the final round of the PC leadership race. That ballot will count in, what I believe to be, the most important election I have cast a ballot for in almost a decade.

Ralph Klein achieved many remarkable things in his 14 years as our Premier and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, but the one that counts today is the unified party he forged and maintained that covered a broad spectrum of Alberta's (admittedly centre-right based) political spectrum. His Cabinet and Caucus contained a remarkable diversity of views from Stockwell Day to Gary Mar, from Lorne Taylor to Dave Hancock and or Victor Doerksen to Gene Zwozdesky. All were free, even encouraged, to express their views openly and frankly in forging a consensus upon which government policy was founded. And it's truly remarkable how few members ever deviated from that consensus, once it was made. For 14 years, while conservative parties were floundering federally or collapsing in our neighbouring provinces, Ralph Klein's leadership was a model of consensus and unity that I think few have understood, at least maybe until this past week.

My support, since June, for Ed Stelmach has been based on many foundations. His integrity, his openness, his common-sense approach to dealing with issues were all very attractive to me as was his record as 'Deep-Six backbencher' and later as a senior Cabinet Minister. But the most important feature to me was the way he talked, both at the beginning, and throughout, his campaign of the need to build a better consensus within our party and the need for our party to renew it's relationship with the people and voters of this Province. More than anything else, this constant feature of his campaign appealed to me and won my support and my vote, both last week and today.

This past week has been frankly, brutal to our Party. It has divided down faultlines even more defined (in my view) than in 1992. Back then, we were so far down in the polls that once our leader was chosen, party members knew they would have to work hard and fast and together if we were to regain the trust of the people of Alberta. This time, we don't have that luxury. For years, the opposition parties have done such a poor job of providing a realistic alternative to Albertans that we've coasted. But that will not last.

Now this week both Mr. Dinning and Dr. Morton have appealed to their bases and argued fiercely against some of the positions taken by the other. And while both may have also been sincere (and still be sincere) about saying how they will reach out to the other's supporters once the race is done; the question must be asked, how realistic are their chances of success? If recent history in BC, Ontario, Saskatchewan and, of course, with the federal conservative movement federally, is any example, such consensus proves difficult and usually only results from a period of time out of government. But the decisions we make in the next few years may well determine the course of Alberta's future for the rest of this century. And they are too important to be left to 'Premier Taft"!

So, if we, as a party, are to unite to face the rising challenge, let it be under a leader who has consistently shown that he knows what consensus-building is all about. Let us support a candidate who has offered a positive vision of a renewed party and province under his leadership, rather than attacking his opponents. Vote for a candidate who has united others who ran for the leadership last week into supporting that vision and his leadership. The man who is (and has always been in this contest, in my opinion) best fitted to fill the void left by Ralph Klein's departure and maintain the broad spectrum of support that he won throughout this province. That man is Ed Stelmach, who I fervently hope will be Premier-designate of Alberta in a few hours.