www.ChrisLaBossiere.com

The best leaders have one thing in common. They make everyone feel like they are part of something, even if they shouldn't normally feel like they belong. The disadvantaged and disenfranchised included. Which of our leaders have this ability?

If the provincial election happened today, Danielle Smith of the Wildrose Alliance Party would win the election and become our new Premier.

She would win deservedly also. She controls the imagination of Albertans. As a woman, who is intelligent and interesting, we all would want to give her a shot at running things. I think it is long overdue that we have a woman challenge the position of leader in this province, and frankly Smith seems to be able to do it with her intelligence, age and enthusiasm. Her problem might be timing and her party. Her party does not control the ideological space most Albertans are most comfortable voting into.

Ed Stelmach would lose, and mostly in spite of everything his party helps him with. The PC party control the power, money, ideological spectrum, and historical ethos of the electorate. He can not get himself re-elected because of his lack-lustre ability to inspire Albertans. Ed seems a normal Joe, which can be a great thing in Alberta, but he lacks the ability to speak with the folksy charm, AND authority that endears Albertans. He has also lost touch with those same people by relying on and delegating his leadership position to those around him.

David Swann is in a real tough spot. His party carries the name most every Albertans can't vote for. He irritates that with a bland personality (at least publicy), and a party that reeks of defeatist mentality. His party is the logical benefactor of the right-wing split that is happening today, but yet he has not been able to connect his Liberals with the "everyman" voter.

Brian Mason is a non-factor. Interestingly, he has a great personality for "roll-your-sleeve" up politics, but he is captain of the good ship crazy. He has perpetuated the brand of the NDP's as a party that hates everything business, entreprenuer, and low-taxes. A toxic recipe in Alberta.

The yet to be named leader of the yet to be named Renew Alberta party is not worth talking about.

So, all that said, we must assume that if no leadership changes are made in the Province between now and the far-out 2012 election, we must assume that Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Alliance Party will be elected.

In my opinion, the only thing that changes that, would be a new leader of the PC Party, Alberta Liberals, or a new moderate alternative Renew Alberta party. Bring a game-changer to the table, and of course then the game is changed.

If not, Smith is our next Premier. I'd be fine with that if she can convince me her party can represent the wishes and dreams of ALL Albertans. What say you Danielle? Can you speak on behalf of our impoverished, indigenous, outcast and indifferent? Are you comfortable trying to win the hearts of those who can't sponsor you, financially support you, or bring droves of fundamental voters? Because in my opinion, that's what leadership is all about.

Can you make people who don't feel like they belong, feel like they belong?

I have met three of the four alleged "Fiscal Four" and I can't help but feel that they are being a bit opportunistic and disingenuous. First, I must profess that I only had a chance to really talk with 2 of them. MLA Jonothan Denis and MLA Doug Griffiths. Permission to speak frankly:

Jonothan Denis, in my personal opinion, has a personality that can only be described as used car salesman meets smarmy entitled lawyer. My discussion with him is best described as socially awkward, and I doubt that he is anything more than a political opportunist who is riding a wave of luck, enabled ironically by the demise of radical Social Conservative Craig Chandler. (a properly chosen WAP candidate in 2012 will easily beat him)

For those of you who don't recall, Jonothan Dennis was the second choice of Calgary Egmont PC Association constituents in the 2008 nomination. After Premier Stelmach showed good leadership to reject Chandler's Nutbar Social Conservative agenda. In my opinion, Dennis was a benefactor of a solid Stelmach showing in 2008, and is probably no more suited for governance than Micheal Jackson was for babysitting.

Doug Grffiths however struck me as the opposite. He seems a pragmatic fiscal Conservative, stuck in a largely rural riding, but who seems to get that strong partisanship as it relates to Social Conservatism is a death-knell for the greater population. I could be wrong on Griffiths, but his progressive activity in Social Media communities, plus his ability to be at ease among differing opinions, tells me that he could be a great politician.

So, my only hypothesis, is that these four young PC MLA's are hedging their bets and trying to make a name for themselves as fiscal conservatives (which is about as good a label as one can have these days), leaving their options open with the PC Party, and yet extending a foot to the life raft named Wildrose Alliance Party.

We don't need anymore political opportunists, we need leadership. Staking your claim as a fiscal conservative aligns easily with a majority of Albertans. Risking your reputation as a pragmatic and balanced public representative however is a risky maneuver. This is where I really hope that Doug Griffiths considers his options wisely.

Now, I am not suggesting that they are wrong to question their party, as you know I have posted before that I think the party needs a serious introspective enema. But, if I was trying to show leadership, I would consider seriously who I aligned myself with. Jonothan Denis is no Doug Griffiths. 

And, before I mounted the life raft, I would do a serious review of the people on that boat. Let's revisit Craig Chandler for a second. Chandler was the campaign manager for Mark Dryholm, of the Wildrose Alliance Party. Frankly Chanlder is a religious fanatic, and that interferes with his ability to manouver in a "Big Tent" party. Interestingly, he is firmly behind Danielle Smith as you can read in this blog post.

Ironically, I also don't get the impression that Danielle Smith is a true Social Conservative, so she may try to convince Alberta that she can bring the conservative movement under her version of the "Big Tent", but to get my vote, she would need to bring an agenda that is inclusive of moderates and distance herself from the religious right. Being a self-described Libertarian is not enough, and frankly hard to believe as long as she continues to be a benefactor of the likes of Chandler. Oh, and that agenda HAS to include a repeal of Bill 44, and so therein lies the rub.

Say what you want about Ed Stelmach, but he is no extremist. My thoughts from the middle.

I am back from spending a week, one day at the PC Association of Alberta annual general meeting. I intend to provide a series of blog posts on my observations, but I really want to be careful to ensure I give it a lot of thought and proper consideration.

But one thing I feel needs to be said relates to my previous posts on Premier Ed Stelmach. I have been in the same room with our Premier four times in the same number of days, and have had the chance to engage him in conversation. I owe him recognition for something that really stood out for me. He has many of the character qualities that I want to see in the Premier of this Province. I am the first to admit that I find it easy to criticize the day-to-day tactics of the Government. I'm sure I'll continue to do that; but I need to be clear and say that this is a man who makes up for many mistakes by providing me with comfort in his intent.

I don't think I am alone in my observation. In fact I would argue that the 78% of PC party delegates who voted to support him in the leadership review, did so because they want to give him as much chance as possible to make some of the changes necessary, in his own way. I also saw many indications that we will see some changes sooner rather than later.

I know what you're thinking... "this LaBossiere character is a fat, hypocritical, flip-flopper". Well firstly, that was a bit harsh, and you should take it back. But also, I want you to know a little something about me:

1. I don't believe in absolutes. I may speak in absolutes when I get passionate about something, but I also try to fight cognitive dissonance. That not only means revisiting my thoughts on something again and again, but I also want to see the same quality in my leaders. If you speak in absolutes all the time, you can find yourself in a hard spot trying to defend yourself when you're wrong. (Ed strikes me as someone who maybe questions himself too much)
2. When taking the inventory of the character of a person, I don't weigh all attributes equally. We should all do that, as none of us are perfect. So if it was a recipe, I'd say one-part honesty or humility, will always be worth more than it's equal part communication skills or political astuteness.

But, rest assured, this is not me giving the PC Party or Premier Stelmach a free pass. I saw many things this weekend that troubled me about the party. I'll be blogging about those, and even offering what I think it should be doing differently. I know that you can't just intend to lead the Province, you have to do it. It's just that something tells me, based on personal observations this weekend, that the Premier also sees some of these problems.

Of course I might just be proven wrong, and as you know from my previous posts, that wouldn't be a first. Luckily for you however, you didn't vote for me, and your tax dollars are not used in the creation of this blog. So you can leave and not feel bad about the value you have received in the creation of it. If you stick around for a bit, I will have to at least consdier why reinventing the PC party might  be an even money bet vs. adopting a party that has it's origins from a Social Conservative, far-right movement.

On the topic of betting however, I am always one to hedge my bets, and will be looking forward to bringing this mindset to the over-subscribed Reboot Alberta event at the end of the month. I also look forward to the continued commentary of my other-minded friends and admired thoughts-leaders.