I sat through the 19 or so minutes of Ed Stelmach’s address to the Alberta nation last night and have since looked at the text of the address as well. The address announced the announcement for today, in which Ed will supposedly let us know of his balanced compromise about energy royalties. The opposition leaders have rightly pointed out that there was no substance to it, and that would be largely true. But it was ironic in growing geometric proportions that Kevin Taft would complain about Stelmach’s inability to inspire. Self-awareness alone would render Taft the most qualified man in the province to comment on that score (See charisma personified here).
The Calgary Herald called the fluffy address a “dress rehearsal,” and that’s really what it seemed. It seemed like a set up for a province-wide focused group organised by handlers wondering how Ed would look on TV come the next election. He talked about values, family, agriculture and the largest challenge of the environment in the face of growth pressures.
The address may have accomplished a couple of things for Ed, though. It removed speculation about whether he would adopt the full recommendations of the very panel he appointed to look at the royalty scheme. He is not going the full 20% increase recommended, though how substantive the compromise will be remains a mystery. But this is “Steady Eddy.” It will likely not be too jarring a compromise, even if the Glob already is accusing him of having caved in to oil power. Those guys in ToroNNo are two hours ahead and can therefore see the future –they are the future, they believe. If Brian Mason ran Alberta’s economy into the ground the same way that Bob Rae did theirs, then they’d be happy.
Stelmach also took the opportunity to attack Klein for not dealing with the unprecedented growth, for presiding over an aimless but high-spending government –and he did that with a straight face considering that he was Infrastructure Minister at the time. Ed is tough on Ralph now. It’s remarkable how courageous former ministers can become once they are outside their perceived radius of political danger. Never once did the new premier mentioned the Heritage fund as he emphasised the additional 29 billion that he has committed to spending over the next decade. The fog horns aren’t working any more but the sailors have headed for shore any way.
At 3PM today, Ed will make good on his announcement to announce details for his 20-year capital plan, and the retooled royalty scheme. There will also be more announcements today about announcements to be made next week. Considering the largely aimless spending record of his party, the less Stelmach takes away from private hands, the better Albertans will be. Stay tuned.
