Alberta Votes: Leaders' debate

The show's over: the leaders of the Alberta Tories, Liberals, NDP and Wildrose Alliance squared off on TV tonight in a 90-minute debate.

The issues discussed came as no surprise to anyone: oilsands, oil royalties, infrastructure, hospitals, health care, daycare, universities, rent controls, etc.

None of the party leaders veered off script, so there were no surprises or unexpected announcements.

I still maintain, as I have before, that Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason would make the best premier of them all. He remained objective and parried the attacks and false statements from the other leaders masterfully.

Mason also gets extra points for bringing out the human element in the Vulcan Kevin Taft, leader of the Liberals. On one point, Mason got Taft so mad that he was ready to lunge for Mason's throat.

The big surprise, though, for me was Paul Hinman's performance. The leader of the Wildrose Alliance managed to get his message across, without succumbing to far-right ideology. Given his performance tonight, I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight uptick in his party's numbers in the next poll (currently the Wildrosers are at 4% and far behind the Alberta NDP).

When asked about the collective lack of charisma among the leaders, Taft replied by saying that charisma is not the same as leadership -- and he's right. You don't need charisma to balance the books and taking the right measures. Mason interjected that, while the other leaders may indeed lack charisma, his wife considers him quite charismatic.

Premier Ed Stelmach managed to confirm everyone's worst fears about him: He could barely form complete sentences (I have seen fresh immigrants coming off the boat who could speak English more fluently than Stelmach) and hardly ever got to finish any of his thoughts (which would have ended in nowhere anyhow).

Based on Stelmach's performance tonight, it should be clear to all Albertans, including those who have supported the Tories all their lives, that Stelmach and his party are not a viable option for this province anymore.

This realization will come as a shock to most conservatives in the province, but it is a reality that they will have to come to terms with: Time to let go, folks, and start looking for a different party where you can park your votes.

Alberta Greens leader George Read, who was excluded from the debate because his party does not hold a seat in the legislature, whereas Paul Hinman was allowed to join because of one single seat (his!) -- the Greens are also far ahead in the polls, so Read actually had a stronger right to be included in the debate than Hinman -- will give a press conference on Friday, February 22, where he will "recreate" tonight's televised debate and answer the same questions. His answers will then be made available on the YouTube.com website.

Further reading:

• CBC
• Calgary Herald
• Calgary Herald blog (part 1 and part 2)

Comments

[Rhys Courtman]

"Alberta Greens leader George Read, who was excluded from the debate because his party does not hold a seat in the legislature, whereas Paul Hinman was allowed to join because of one single seat (his!) -- the Greens are also far ahead in the polls, so Read actually had a stronger right to be included in the debate than Hinman -- will give a press conference on Friday, February 22, where he will "recreate" tonight's televised debate and answer the same questions. His answers will then be made available on the YouTube.com website."

Randy Thorsteinson - who was leader of the then-Alberta Alliance in the 2004 election - was excluded from the televised debates for the same reason Read now finds himself in. No seats? No air time.

I suppose that's fair, given the number of rump parties in the Province who would likely howl with demands for similar treatment if a seatless party leader like Mr. Read were allowed to partake in debates.....

.... Well, save for the fact that Pam Barrett was apparently allowed to participate in the televised debates in 1997 despite the Alberta NDP not having any seats in the Legislature at the time. Oh, well....