The First Year Of the NDP (comments & concerns)
It's been three weeks since the Alberta election. Oh...sorry...the historic Alberta election. **rolls eyes** Sorry...I've heard enough of that.
What I've seen in the last three weeks isn't encouraging. I know that politicians like to sell hope, but what people ultimately want is professional government. The first three weeks look like amateur hour to me.
To be fair, the Alberta NDP haven't ever formed government. They have no knowledge base except that available to them from the legislature apparatus. But what I want and expect from an elected political leader is intelligence. I'm seeing things that make me second guess my initial rosy assessment of Rachel Notley.
1. Vet Your Candidates
Sure, Ms. Notley didn't expect to win when she set out on the campaign trail. That doesn't excuse her or her party from vetting candidates properly. How the left in this province howled over the improper vetting done by the Wildrose in 2012. What's good for the goose.....
2. A Small Cabinet makes No Sense
Perhaps Ms. Notley doesn't see a depth of talent on her team (see point #1). Perhaps she really does believe that she can save the taxpayer some money by having fewer ministers. But those of us who follow politics closely know how badly rookie ministers can struggle to find their legs. Ms. Notley is now giving untested, inexperienced MLAs not one, but two or three portfolios to wrestle with. This is a recipe for a disastrous first year. I also have to wonder what the thinking is behind deliberately putting people in portfolios that don't match their experience. David Eggen knows healthcare, yet gets Education. Sarah Hoffman knows Education but gets Health. Lori Sigurdson has no elected experience and gets two of the biggest ministries in government at once in Advanced Education and Labour. Maybe she should ask Stephen Khan how that turned out for him. None of this makes sense.
3. No Budget Until The Fall
The Prentice budget was never passed. The fiscal year began April 1. So we'll have to wait until half way through the fiscal year before we know what's what fiscally. In the mean time school boards and post secondaries have no idea what to do for September. Nobody has a clue what they can count on for a budget. I can get not throwing something together in three weeks. But it seems that Ms. Notley has a pretty good idea what she wants to do. Why wait 4 months? It's not responsible.
People can stand out in the sun cheering like these politicians are rockstars if they want. And it is great to see young people engaged and hopeful. But life has a way of being real. Ms. Notley will, as a matter of course, disappoint many of those young hipsters. She's not going to give them everything they want. And in time she will will be the one vilified and accused of being in bed with oil companies and corporations. Fair or not, it will happen. This is politics. Bank on it. After all, why would voters or partisan politicos be fair? That would mean accepting reality and paying attention to the details. Complaining is much more fun. Making silly mistakes out of the gate won't help the NDP.
What I've seen in the last three weeks isn't encouraging. I know that politicians like to sell hope, but what people ultimately want is professional government. The first three weeks look like amateur hour to me.
To be fair, the Alberta NDP haven't ever formed government. They have no knowledge base except that available to them from the legislature apparatus. But what I want and expect from an elected political leader is intelligence. I'm seeing things that make me second guess my initial rosy assessment of Rachel Notley.
1. Vet Your Candidates
Sure, Ms. Notley didn't expect to win when she set out on the campaign trail. That doesn't excuse her or her party from vetting candidates properly. How the left in this province howled over the improper vetting done by the Wildrose in 2012. What's good for the goose.....
2. A Small Cabinet makes No Sense
Perhaps Ms. Notley doesn't see a depth of talent on her team (see point #1). Perhaps she really does believe that she can save the taxpayer some money by having fewer ministers. But those of us who follow politics closely know how badly rookie ministers can struggle to find their legs. Ms. Notley is now giving untested, inexperienced MLAs not one, but two or three portfolios to wrestle with. This is a recipe for a disastrous first year. I also have to wonder what the thinking is behind deliberately putting people in portfolios that don't match their experience. David Eggen knows healthcare, yet gets Education. Sarah Hoffman knows Education but gets Health. Lori Sigurdson has no elected experience and gets two of the biggest ministries in government at once in Advanced Education and Labour. Maybe she should ask Stephen Khan how that turned out for him. None of this makes sense.
3. No Budget Until The Fall
The Prentice budget was never passed. The fiscal year began April 1. So we'll have to wait until half way through the fiscal year before we know what's what fiscally. In the mean time school boards and post secondaries have no idea what to do for September. Nobody has a clue what they can count on for a budget. I can get not throwing something together in three weeks. But it seems that Ms. Notley has a pretty good idea what she wants to do. Why wait 4 months? It's not responsible.
People can stand out in the sun cheering like these politicians are rockstars if they want. And it is great to see young people engaged and hopeful. But life has a way of being real. Ms. Notley will, as a matter of course, disappoint many of those young hipsters. She's not going to give them everything they want. And in time she will will be the one vilified and accused of being in bed with oil companies and corporations. Fair or not, it will happen. This is politics. Bank on it. After all, why would voters or partisan politicos be fair? That would mean accepting reality and paying attention to the details. Complaining is much more fun. Making silly mistakes out of the gate won't help the NDP.
Makes no sense.
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