Klein gets just 55% approval from Tory delegates

[no1important]

Despite his earlier pleas to his Conservative Party faithful, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein received only 55 per cent support from convention delegates late Friday in a mandatory leadership review.

It was not immediately clear what action Klein would take, though the numbers could only be seen as a crushing blow.

In what observers are calling the most important speech of his political career, Klein pleaded with party members on Friday to let him continue as their leader for another two years.

"I ask you to give me -- one final time -- your endorsement to achieve what I have laid out for the duration of this mandate," Klein told roughly 1,200 delegates in a speech before they cast secret ballots in a mandatory leadership vote.

"If you see fit to give me that support, I pledge to you that I will work as hard as I possibly can to bring continued honour to this party and continued prosperity to this province we love."

"You have my word, which I offer to you with humility, with respect and with honesty."

Klein has won four consecutive majorities for the Tories. But he has been criticized of late for failing to provide solid leadership -- and for the political infighting critics say began when he announced his retirement wouldn't come for another 19 months, on Oct. 31, 2007.

The 63-year-old political warhorse, who normally gets a percentage of party support in the high 90s, has said he will resign from the party if he doesn't achieve a "substantial majority" in his leadership review.

Klein hasn't indicated what that magic number is, but some of his political aides have indicated he would step aside to allow for a leadership contest if support falls below 75 per cent.

Calling Alberta "Canada's shining star," Klein fought to persuade party members to allow him to carry through his fourth mandate to the end.

I wonder if he will get the message and resign?

I also bet he will start drinking again.

Read the rest here

[Newfie Canadian]

I wonder if he will get the message and resign?

I suspect he will. He seemed pretty intent on getting a higher number. I suspect he's seeing some residual fallout from Mr. Chretien's long good-bye. Albertans don't want to see it apparently...or at least the provincial tories don't.

I also bet he will start drinking again.

This is completely irrelevant and unnecessary IMO.

[geoffrey]

It's a sad time for Alberta. I have little doubt that Klein will have to step down sooner than planned because of this lack of confidence. It really is time for King Ralph to go, but the legacy he leaves behind is far greater than any other political figure in Alberta.

I thank his hard work and strong medicine at the beginning of his reign to give us the low tax, high economically efficent system we have today, making us the richest region of the world outside Luxembourgh. Ralph created a paradise within a socialist system, we people truly are rewarded for hard work and dedication to their jobs. Alberta has become the capitalist economic dream.

We have no debt, we have a massive $30b+ savings fund for the future, we have the best schools in Canada, the most health care spending in Canada in the best system... all with paying less for it than anywhere else in Canada. It is the conservative way.

Even the Ralph haters must attribute to him the fact that he is clearly been the most popular politican, and effective leader, any province has ever seen. Which other Premier has had, at times, popularity in the 90% range?

Very sad. Hopefully whoever takes over is a little more fiscally sound then Ralph's latest behaviour, but I still want a Premier that will stand up for us in Ottawa, and keep the coffers overfollowing for everyone in Alberta.

Go PC's, best of luck to the leadership candidates and to Ralph's future endeavours, we owe ya one Ralphie.

P.S. The comment about Ralph's drinking was underhanded and unfair. He's a big man to come out and admit he's got a problem. Another thing Ralph always did... he was honest, he admitted responsibility when he dropped the ball, each and every time.

[I miss Reagan]

I hope Ralph finally gets the message. Ralphs departure is already long overdue. I have to agree with Black Dog's comments a long while back comparing the Alberta Tories to the Chretien Liberals. The PC's have had too much power for too long and need to be humbled. Klein has been acting like a dictator. I supported Klein for a long time but he should've left a long time ago. I don't care what party it is that holds power this country needs to have more balance and people here need to quit being so complacent.

As for the comments about Ralphs drinking, I think it's fair game to attack a public figure for poor behaviour in public.

[sideshow]

maybe ralphie can pay a private health practitioner to heal his wounds.

[yorkman]

I don't think the "good times" in Alberta are totally of Ralph's making or because of his extraordinary performance. I think oil has much to do with those good times. Probably anyone of us could have managed Alberta's affairs under the economic conditions of the past 40 years. His arrogance in wanting to stay on until 2008 is breathtaking.....a down home type of arrogance but arrogance all the same. Not much different from all the other successful pols who never know when to leave and end up having to be pushed out. What a way to end a career.

[geoffrey]

I don't think the "good times" in Alberta are totally of Ralph's making or because of his extraordinary performance. I think oil has much to do with those good times. Probably anyone of us could have managed Alberta's affairs under the economic conditions of the past 40 years. His arrogance in wanting to stay on until 2008 is breathtaking.....a down home type of arrogance but arrogance all the same. Not much different from all the other successful pols who never know when to leave and end up having to be pushed out. What a way to end a career.

It's untrue to say the government has no part in Alberta's success.

When Ralph took over the province, Alberta wasn't in great shape. He could have easily gone the publically popular way, the way of Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes, and hand out welfare. Instead, he took a responsible path, of tax cuts and pro-business measures. And for this we suffered for five or six years, but now looking back, there could not have been a better decision made.

You'd be naive to think that natural gas and oil ends at the Alberta border... Saskatchewan has tons of resources that aren't used because of an aggressive anti-business government that has pretty much barred investment there.

To say that the success of Alberta is Ralph's sole doing would be false I agree. But the PC government here has created the absolute ideal environment for business to operate, and we are seeing the rewards of that.

The workers make the wealth, the government sets their motivation.

Alberta has always been the hardest working province statistically (highest participation rate in the labour force), so our success is also attributable to the previous governments too, which created this environment where hard work is so well rewarded.

Those that say Alberta is strictly an oil province and this is why Ralph has been successful are also wrong. When we had no oil industry after the Trudeau assault, Alberta was still a have province. So no, we aren't an oil province, we are simply a province that has oil. Even since then, we've become even more diversified.

[sideshow]

And a buck a litre isnt helping King Ralph write $400.00 cheques.

[geoffrey]

And a buck a litre isnt helping King Ralph write $400.00 cheques.

See, this is half of the problem, statements like that.

Firstly, Alberta's tax on gasoline is actually a flat set amount, like 5.5 cents I think? All other provinces (to the best of my knowledge) and Ottawa use a percentage. So who's benefiting from higher gas prices?

Crude prices actually have very little to do with gas, as most of the petroleum you see downstream is refined by US companies, since we've been pretty anti-refinery for quite some time. Though we are building a new mega-project refinery in Alberta in the near future, if its not already being built.

If you don't like gas prices, call your MP. The 'destroy the deficit' excise tax is still there, even with all the surpluses.

Alberta would not be wealthy if we didn't have the business here to get at that gas your talking about. And getting that business here has been the doing of our government. We have a Washington and Houston 'Alberta embassy' where we actively promote our projects.

A buck a litre isn't helping the oil rich Newfoundland or natural gas rich Saskatchewan. Why the difference? Because our government has made Alberta the choice of business.

Thanks Ralph.

EDIT: By the way, are you from Ontario? Generally its people from my former province that have this assumption that anyone that is doing better than them has no right to call it a success, and instead just call it oil.

[sideshow]

Oh of course. And this is why Alberta "changes" its surplus estimates so eratically.

much like saudi princes that state that their wealth has nothing to do with the price of oil.

Manitoba had the same problem when wheat was the product of wealth.

Ontario had the auto sector.

Please try to follow along my apprentice. Oil=money. If you have it, you create wealth. If you dont, well, you may still appease Michelin when the fish are all gone.

I do not reside in Ontario, nor Alberta. Ive lived and worked all over the Country young grasshopper. My opinions come from neither the Toronto Star nor the Edmonton Journal. And Fox doesnt grace my tv screen.

[Minimus Maximus]

Oil=Money is entirely too simplistic to explain Alberta's success. Saskachewan has natural resources out the wazoo yet has no where near the financial success as Alberta. The simple fact of the matter is that natural resources don't jump out of the ground on command, infrastructure must be built in order for the resources to be translated into wealth.

This is Ralph's true legacy to Albertan's, he created the economic climate which allowed Albertan's to take advantage of the natural resources inherent to this province. If Lorne Calvert had been premier of Alberta instead of Ralph then I seriously doubt this thread would even exist as Alberta would not be what it is today, with or without oil.

Build it and they will come, tax the hell out of it and they will go elsewhere.

[Michael Hardner]

Let me get this straight. It has nothing to do with the oil ?

If Alberta had a different government, the oil would just be sitting there in the ground then ?

As somebody pointed out, Saudi Arabia got pretty rich and they're run by a royal family. Should their governments also be given credit ?

[sideshow]

There can be no doubt that Ralph is a great politician. Until recently anyways. Alberta is out of debt. Conservatives are still in power. Although Ralph has made some major faux pas as of late (i mean getting drunk and berating homeless men is quite uncouth) he did a service to MUCH of the province. The problem is, is that those that needed the help the most, did not benefit from KING RALPH.

I personally think the whole $400 cheque thing was a waste of money. That money could have been put to a collective purpose to create an even BETTER province-whether its capital expenditure on health care equipment, cheaper public transportation, upgraded schools, computers in libraries, whatever.

I think the C convention felt the pulse of the general Alberta pop and decided that the emperor had no clothes-and they told him to put his pants on.

[Biblio Bibuli]

It's a sad time for Alberta. I have little doubt that Klein will have to step down sooner than planned because of this lack of confidence.

Very sad.

Alberta was lucky to snag the best pupil of the best Prime Minister that Canada never had .... but seeing as how Ralph's mentor is now willing to be wooed, I wouldn't call it "a sad time for Alberta" .... this is the time to celebrate!

GO PRESTO GO!

[geoffrey]

It's a sad time for Alberta. I have little doubt that Klein will have to step down sooner than planned because of this lack of confidence.

Very sad.

Alberta was lucky to snag the best pupil of the best Prime Minister that Canada never had .... but seeing as how Ralph's mentor is now willing to be wooed, I wouldn't call it "a sad time for Alberta" .... this is the time to celebrate!

GO PRESTO GO!

Ya I was very pleasently suprised to hear that Manning might take a run. GOOO PRESTO!!

[sideshow]

correct me if i am wrong, but did preston manning not leave politics due to health (prostate cancer?) reasons?

personally, i think his shelf life is past due. obviously an intelligent, driven man. but hes yesterdays news. time for fresh, new, young ideas.

[Biblio Bibuli]

Ya I was very pleasently suprised to hear that Manning might take a run.

How do you think I feel? After losing a bundle on the federal election (I hear you lost a pretty penny too) this is a great opportunity for us to make all of our money back, and then some.

But you see, we must bet him now, because once Don Martin declares him a shoe-in (sometime early next week is my bet) the odds on Presto will drop like a rock.

So better run now, Geoffrey, and pawn that lugeing/skeleton equipment of yours, or something.

[Minimus Maximus]

Michael Hardner, I didn't say that oil had nothing to do with Alberta's success. Given a different political climate, Saskachewan's for example, Alberta's economy may have been quite different.

There can be no doubt that Ralph is a great politician. Until recently anyways. Alberta is out of debt. Conservatives are still in power. Although Ralph has made some major faux pas as of late (i mean getting drunk and berating homeless men is quite uncouth) he did a service to MUCH of the province. The problem is, is that those that needed the help the most, did not benefit from KING RALPH.

I personally think the whole $400 cheque thing was a waste of money. That money could have been put to a collective purpose to create an even BETTER province-whether its capital expenditure on health care equipment, cheaper public transportation, upgraded schools, computers in libraries, whatever.

I think the C convention felt the pulse of the general Alberta pop and decided that the emperor had no clothes-and they told him to put his pants on.

I was one of those that needed help when times were tough. Like a lot of other Albertan's, I got through it and the lessons learned during that part of my life still help guide me today.

The $400.00 cheques I could have lived without. As a family of four our $1600.00 went to a neice in university so I tend to agree with you that this money could have been better spent.

I personally have not voted for Ralph for the past two provincial elections, I have tried to use my vote to strengthen the opposition as I do feel that too much power tends to lead to corruption, not always but sometimes.

[geoffrey]

Ya I was very pleasently suprised to hear that Manning might take a run.

How do you think I feel? After losing a bundle on the federal election (I hear you lost a pretty penny too) this is a great opportunity for us to make all of our money back, and then some.

But you see, we must bet him now, because once Don Martin declares him a shoe-in (sometime early next week is my bet) the odds on Presto will drop like a rock.

So better run now, Geoffrey, and pawn that lugeing/skeleton equipment of yours, or something.

Is there actually any real betting on things like this?

If there was, I'd definitely put money on Manning right now.

[Montgomery Burns]

Sideshow:

Please try to follow along my apprentice. Oil=money. If you have it, you create wealth.

If oil automatically equals money, then why is Saskatchewan poor?

Doesn't Newfoundland have oil?

[Biblio Bibuli]

Is there actually any real betting on things like this?

If there was, I'd definitely put money on Manning right now.

I made my bet (6000) on the Bush vs. Kerry election at the Czech site "Tipsport.cz", through my old school friend who still lives there. I nearly doubled my money.

I WAS going to put a similiar amount on Martin vs. Harper (CPC majority) but luckily tipsport.cz didn't offer it.

I WISH there was "real" dependable betting on little things like Canadian politics as I'd be a rich man by now.

You know what I think? I think that if betting on elections was promoted & widespread & allowed, all of the pollsters would be completely out of business in no time.

[geoffrey]

Sideshow:

Please try to follow along my apprentice. Oil=money. If you have it, you create wealth.

If oil automatically equals money, then why is Saskatchewan poor?

Doesn't Newfoundland have oil?

Newfoundland has considerable expected off-shore reserves, yet no one is willing to explore there let alone sink any wells because of an enourmous tax burden.

With the Natural Gas that Newfoundland also is likely to have (we don't know, no one is willing to deal with the costs for little gain there), it would be massively rich.

Build a pipeline to the NE USA and Newfoundland is richer than Alberta. The hell if their government would do that though.

[geoffrey]

Is there actually any real betting on things like this?

If there was, I'd definitely put money on Manning right now.

I made my bet (6000) on the Bush vs. Kerry election at the Czech site "Tipsport.cz", through my old school friend who still lives there. I nearly doubled my money.

I WAS going to put a similiar amount on Martin vs. Harper (CPC majority) but luckily tipsport.cz didn't offer it.

I WISH there was "real" dependable betting on little things like Canadian politics as I'd be a rich man by now.

You know what I think? I think that if betting on elections was promoted & widespread & allowed, all of the pollsters would be completely out of business in no time.

Let's start up the website BB.

[idealisttotheend]

Much as I hate to break up the party Geoffrey, a couple of points. Much as you like to paint Alberta as a Capitalist Mecca, we have the distiction of having the highest governement spending per capita in Canada. I've noticed on other parts of the forum people accuse the NDP of wanting to spend too much money on social programs. Well, no, the Alberta PCs spend the most per head that means we have the 'biggest goverment' in the country. I like that you've noticed the good education and health system, that's what the highest spending per capita goes to pay for.

As for the deficit, well, the communists under Romanow next door in Saskatchewan balanced their budget before Klien did.

Klien was a liberal when he started and some people say he's a liberal even now.

[geoffrey]

Education and Health are good spending priorities as they eventually will return dividends to the economy.

It's not rampant social welfare, thats why we have 3.1% unemployment and have always had a participation rate above 70%. Those on welfare are looked down upon in Alberta, and are heavily pressured and forced back into the workforce immediately. As it should be.