Stelmach to step down?
 

So I just heard on QR77 that Ed Stelmach will not be running in the next election, which could be a couple of years away still. Eddie's not that steady, and I don't think an election can come soon enough.

That's the best news I've heard in a long time. :sHa_shakeshout:

Cons and Libs both going to disappear. Wild Rose and the Alberta Party will take their places. NDP.... who knows/cares.

I got to agree with you on that. I think the people in Alberta are sick of both parties and looking for change in Edmonton.

Like

I'm rather surprised by this. I like Stelmach over all though his government has left a fair bit to be desired. I view his running of the province to be no worse than the Klein years.

Personally I'll be dreading a Wild Rose Alliance government but I won't be surprised if they win. With Stelmach stepping down now, before it's too late the Conservatives still have a chance to avoid an utter disaster. The big question now is who will be his replacement?

Barb Higgins?

Can you say Premier Morton.

I'd bet Ted Morton has a good shot at replacing him.

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/o...9592c76ba5.jpg

Na Na Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye.........

Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

X2:)

No, I can't. :sick:

I previously thought Morton would be good for Alberta and it's citizens. Time has proven that Morton is only interested in Alberta's "Subjects".

Morton will likely become the next Premier, by acclamation. Hopefully he is never made Premier by election.

As an interesting side note, Morton is feeling out the option of leaving his Foothills/Rocky-View riding to run in Okotoks/High River, a face to face battle with the leader of the Wild Rose, Danielle Smith.

I was looking forward to Stelmach running things back when he won the leadership but he soon showed his real lack of direction and leadership. Should be a real interesting race for his replacement. I bet the powers that be said if we want a chance at staying in power, Eddie's got to go now. I wonder if Jim Dinning will come out of the shadows for a try at the top job again.

Gotta say that doesn't leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy!

x10 Rich. A real agenda (his own) pusher from what I see. I hope he does have guts to run against Smith and it just might be academic.

Still no party worth voting for in Alberta :thinking-006:

We voted for Morton in the last PC leadership race but after watching him work the last few years I would never vote for him again...the Province has to move away from the PC party, they are giving conservatives everywhere a bad name while killing this Province....hopefully WR gets it ducks in a row in time for the next election...

In a surprise announcement, Premier Ed Stelmach has told reporters that he will not run as a candidate in the next election, news that will spark a new leadership race for the helm of Alberta's Progressive Conservative party.

"Upon much reflection ... I have determined after 25 years of public service, I will not serve another full term," Stelmach said in Edmonton.

Stelmach has served as Alberta's premier since late 2006 when he captured a surprise victory in the Tory leadership campaign. He subsequently won a massive majority in the 2008 general election, but polls have shown him slipping steadily since.

"There is no doubt that my decision today will come as a shock to many and a disappointment to my friends and Albertans," Stelmach said.

He said he was grateful to those people who have supported him through the years.

He said at a future date that he would provide written notice to the president of the PC party his intention to resign as leader. In due course, he said, a leadership race will be held to select his successor.

The Tory leader said that until he provides formal notice, he will continue to serve as a premier.

Stelmach also told reporters that his successor will be under no obligation to go to the polls in March, 2012.

"That was my timetable and mine alone," Stelmach said.

"My successor has the parliamentary authority to call an election anytime up to the constitutional deadline of March of 2013.

"No one needs to be stampeded into a decision. Let's all take the time to get this right."

Stelmach warned against the "danger" that the next election campaign will focus on personality and U.S.-style negative attack politics directly at him personally. He then appeared to take a veiled shot at the Wildrose Alliance.

"The danger is that it could allow for an extreme right party to disguise itself as a moderate party by focusing on personality -- on me personally," he said.

"This type of U.S.-style wedge politics is coming into Canada, and it comes at our peril."

David Taras, a political analyst at Mount Royal University, says now that the Tories are setting about finding a new leader, their biggest rival, the Wildrose Alliance, is facing a completely different political landscape.

"The clock was ticking for Ed, but what he's done now is pulled the carpet out from under his opponents," Taras said.

"For the conservatives in this province, there's an endless amount of forgiveness. The default has always been to wear the blue shirt.

"And to find a new leader, someone who is more charismatic, more articulate, that just may be enough for Albertans."

In Calgary, Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Stelmach’s announcement caught him by surprise.

“Right now I think it’s not time to think about politics. It is time to think about Premier Stelmach’s legacy as a really decent human being and a really dedicated public servant,” he said.

Stelmach sometimes had a strained relationship with Calgary's city hall, clashing with former mayor Dave Bronconnier over the need for improved municipal funding.

However, Stelmach's government ultimately made a multi-billion-dollar commitment to civic infrastructure.

More recently, Nenshi and Stelmach appeared to enjoy more positive relations.

“Let’s focus on the things that he’s done," Nenshi said. "He has guided us through a difficult recession. And he and his wife Marie as well, always have a focus on the most vulnerable people in the community. His focus in particular on poverty and homelessness has been something that I’ve long admired.”



Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Al...#ixzz1C54Zodtj

I would say that his reign has been fairly similar to the later Klein years... both rudderless/directionless. Klein only warrants space in our collective memory because of his first term or so.

Stelmach will share a single page in the Alberta history book with Harry Strom... two Captains who went down with their political ships. Of Strom is written in Wikipedia: "He is remembered as an honest, decent man who lacked the political skills of his predecessor". Isn't that exactly Stelmach's epitaph as well?

Best news I have heard in a long time. Hopefully Minister Morton will be his successor. He is just the breath of fresh air this province needs.

:scared0015:



NO!!!

That's just changing who's the captain of the Titanic. Like Iggy was a breath of fresh air after Dion. They all need to be gone.

What Morton would bring to the table is not fresh air in my mind.

Oko, are we agreeing on something? :)

As the author of the Land Use framework, Morton is damaged goods. As more people come to understand the ramifications of this bill, Morton will be lucky to keep his own seat.
Stelmach leaving is simply a sign of the 'winds of change' coming to this province. The PCs hope he will take the fall for the blunders of the party, and all will be forgiven.

Too little, too late for me. You can change the leader, but the attitude will not change until they get thrown out of office. They all have to go.

X2 Lets start "Fresh"...

Do you think the majority of voters read, understand or even care about LUF? Morton will be the next leader of the conservatives:sHa_shakeshout: and therefore the new Premier of Alberta.

I have heard all this talk of voting in another party before. In fact the last election was supposed to be the Wildrose Alliance coming out party. How did that go?

The Conservatives will win the next election by another massive landslide and all will continue on as it has for the past thirty years.

Morton is not only Outdoorsmen unfriendly, he has become the enemy.

Land Use Framework = No property rights for Albertans.

Parks Act = Ministerial power to eliminate hunting in parks and rangelands.

RAMP and OPEN SPACES = Privitizing ownership of Public Wildlife.

There is a reason I described Alberta citizens as "Subjects". Morton is responsible for taking away the rights of Albertan's at every turn. He want to be "KING", and not in the cute Klien fashion.

I hope thats just the Elk making you crazy and your not really that crazy.....:scared0018: