Saturday, September 19, 2009

STELMACH HEADING FOR THE LAST ROUND-UP? KLEIN'S BARBARIANS AT THE GATE? YOU CAN SAY YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!


HEADING FOR THE LAST ROUND-UP?



I have just had a pleasant evening with good friends in one of my favorite restaurants – Caesar’s Steak House in downtown Calgary. The conversation was scintillating. The steaks were excellent as usual – Caesar’s is one of the great steak houses of the world! – and the excellent vintages flowed freely and generously. As is usual in the social milieu where I lurk about, politics was very much a hot topic of conversation. On occasion at these soirees one hears something for the first time that may not yet be in the public domain - a scoop, as it were.

Tonight I have what may be a scoop. It comes from a usually reliable source. If the event comes to pass, you can say you heard the essence of the story here first.

Here goes. A prominent, middle-aged, and colourful oilman much in the news is leading [financing][encouraging][promoting] a coup d’etat against Premier Ed Stelmach. The pissing contest – at least the initial salvoes thereof – is scheduled to take place November 6th and 7th at the venerable Capri Hotel in Red Deer, Alberta during the Annual Meeting of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. For more details of the venue and proceedings see: http://www.albertapc.ab.ca/admin/contentx/default.cfm?PageId=9437

The story is that the aging but prominent and colourful, oft seen, oilman gazillionaire – reputed in some circles to be a lothario - together with assorted neglected, seduced, and abandoned apparatchiks and hangers-on from the old Klein organization, have had it up to their ears with the befuddled, dweebish farmboy. The ignominious loss of Calgary Glenmore was the last straw. They have conspired to band together and begin moving heaven and earth to have their esteemed leader booted from the party leadership and the Premier’s office. Sounds like something that could happen in the Tory party, right?

But, you may ask, just who do these plotters have in mind to replace the Czar of Fort Saskatchewan - Vegreville? Why none other than the man Fast Eddie vanquished in the leadership contest of 2006 – the Honorable Jim Dinning! Think of it, Dinning is the logical champion of the insurrectionists. Not only did he serve 11 years in the legislature and preside over three portfolios - but these days he has a lot of time on his hands. I mean, he only serves on the boards of twelve public companies and institutions – including his flagship, the Liquor Stores Income Fund. And he hasn’t received an honorary degree since 2002.

So there you have it - the dashing oil baron and the forgotten Klein operatives who have been licking their wounds in abject silence for so long, slithering into line behind a beaten and forgotten former minister who doesn’t have enough to do.

And you can say you heard it here first.

8 comments:

Donn Lovett said...

Keep the pundits guessing,

Darryl Raymaker said...

Yep.

Raymaker said...

You should demand to have your own table permanently reserved at Caesar's. It's the least they can do for your loyal and frequent patronage. Maybe one next to Ralph's?

Darryl Raymaker said...

No, No. Not there. I stay away from riff-raff.

Unknown said...

This is no surprise, these stories about Dinning, Stelmach or the newest kid on the block Hinman. The imported American Republican Party of Albeta is splintering from its own internal contradictions, not unlike the Soviet Communists who shared with these gents a common disregard for human rights and freedoms.

Change is coming, but not from this direction. People are fed-up with right wing "neocon" ideology that cannot deliver stable well paying jobs, core social services, healthcare and education.

If its going to be a careless minister like Dinning, then better to stay with Stelmach.

Darryl Raymaker said...

Joe
Sorry I didn't respond sooner. I agree the stories of Stelmach getting the shiv between the shoulder blades is no surpirse. My fear is that it when the Tories collapse (like Social Credit in 1971) it will merely be replaced by another right wing group who will be as bad or worse than they were.
The nature of our economy, the lack of large groups of organized labour, and bias of the media and so forth are very difficult pressures for a population to resist.

Unknown said...

Darryl,
I watch with interest how this group of power mongers(the regime) are able to develop chaos without even trying. Probably due mostly to their incompetence - but you think their advisors would have told them the downside of acting stupid - my comment on H1 N1:
We cannot blame the govt for this influenza situation!!! I agree, however, when the govt. determines the hows and the whys of immunization and the plan (?) to accomplish this becomes the disaster - I accuse the govt. of having no plan!
When ron, duck-itt and the superboard choose this time to attack and provoke the health provider workers - I accuse the govt. of creating unnesecary havoc!
When the ron lipart and fast eddy choose to act with arrogance and flipancy when questioned about the controlled distribution for those most in need - I accuse the govt. of being drunk with power and callous for the respect owed the electorate!
When the leaders of this regime(govt.) choose to act like fools and lose their cool when all else around them are looking for someone with presence of mind in order to offer confidence and control of a tough situation - I accuse this govt. and it's leaders of not having the minimal quality to do the job needed at diffiicult times!
What will they do, and what have they done, when times get really tough? We do not have leaders in power - we have power hungry, incompetents in power - remember history and how devastating this has shown to be - get them out now or sooner if we can!! what can we do before this group destroys all semblance of decency and process in our province??
Dennis

Unknown said...

I think that this is no time for the Liberals to be folding their tent. Afterall, it was the Liberal Party that formed the first Provincial Government in Alberta and there is absolutely no reason to believe that they could not do so again.

However, that is going to take a lot of real political work, constituency by constituency, and poll by poll.

The entire province will shift once it becomes clear that real change is coming. The Social Credit went down to defeat, not just because it was tired and old, but because voters sensed that the Manning crowd was not actually interested in them as people. When that critical threshold was reached, people abandoned the old Social Credit movement in droves.

Today that is exactly the same dynamic in play. People have stopped listening to the Conservatives and they are bemused by the Wild Rose Alliance to Nowhere. When the Wild Rose runs against the Conservatives, its perfectly logical to park your vote safely with the Liberal Party in Alberta.

The major budget item is healthcare and today the Liberals are being led by a medical doctor. Its an inspired choice that the Party has made with Dr. Swann.

The tipping point is very near when everyone is going to pile on, and when that happens the Conservatives will go into eclipse along with the Wild Rose Alliance.

In a sense, this mini-play has already been played out with the Stelmach Nomination where he ran third, but actually won the leadership.

So I have great expectations that this government will defeat itself, and I have great expectations that the Liberals will learn that there is no easy way to win an election except door to door "combat".