Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 213 (March 21, 2012)
Whispering in the Wind
Election Day in Alberta has yet to be officially declared but there is no question, voting day is coming and coming fast – here is my prediction: Election Day will be April 23rd with the writ issued on Tuesday, March 27th. Regardless of the actual date of the election the campaigns are well underway – in the last week or so I’ve detected that the parties have shifted gears with some disturbing currents surfacing – to me, what it suggests is that politics in Alberta over the next four, five weeks is going to be nasty and dirty.
“Danielle Smith: Not Worth the Risk”
The Alberta PC party has launched in the Calgary area a thought provoking ad campaign slogan which has gotten the attention of people throughout the province: “Danielle Smith: Not Worth the Risk”. To some the slogan is nothing but negative advertising and unbecoming of the Alberta PC’s who have guided the province to its current economic dominance in Canada. For me it shows that Alison Redford and the Progressive Conservatives are perplexed and a little concerned that their dominance is being challenged, particularly in southern Alberta. In my view, it is not negative advertising but a WAKE-UP call for Albertans to seriously think about the short and long term CONSEQUENCES of having many neophyte candidates playing a dominant role in Alberta’s next Legislative Assembly.
“Culture of Corruption”
While the Alberta PCs are testing their “Not Worth the Risk” campaign, the Wildrose party is flooding the internet with their slogan: “Culture of Corruption” and have issued a template for advertising their “culture of corruption” slogan at the constituency level. In my view Danielle Smith and the Wildrose party have every right and even the obligation to demonstrate the shortcomings of their adversaries – whether it be poor judgment, poor policy and bad decision making, bad or poor governance – and equally, if wanting to get elected; advocate alternative realistic solutions, actions and policies – at this point in time I’ve heard some unwarranted criticism and a lot of mud slinging but little in the way of recommendations and solutions, if elected. But to suggest that there is a conspiracy or a “culture of corruption” within the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party or within Alison Redford’s new cabinet team goes way over the top of decency and fair play, even in politics – to the campaign manager of the Wildrose, I’ve seen that type of extremism in Ottawa and it does not belong in Alberta conservative politics.
Strategic Voting:
“ChangeAlberta” is a newly formed “grassroots” organization that is advocating strategic voting in the 2012 Alberta election to assure the left leaning parties (Liberals, New Democrats, the Alberta Party and the EverGreens) to use strategic voting and assure incumbent members on the left are re-elected. Whether this so called group has any credibility among the left of center voters will become more evident in the weeks to come – I personally don’t see it having much impact.
Latest Poll –
The latest political survey in Alberta was undertaken in the first week of March by Abacus Data, indicates that the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party has 34 percent support of committed voters in Alberta; the Wildrose Party has 29 percent support; the Liberals have 18 percent support; the New Democratic Party garnered 14 percent support; with 5 percent of Albertans supporting other parties. If I read the background information correctly about 10 percent of voters are still uncommitted at the time of the Abacus survey. A couple of surprises came out from the Abacus survey; first, the Wildrose support has remained constant at 29 percent for the last three months and a good deal of that support is in southern Alberta. Another surprise is the bounce of the Liberal Party in the latest survey – for the last number of months the Liberal recorded about 13 percent support, the Abacus survey suggests that support has jumped to 18 percent at the expense of the Alberta PCs.
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