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| After Tory meltdown in Ontario, Klein reveals... - Monday, October 06, 2003 at 14:55 |
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http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/columnists/story.asp?id=B2DE3546-4698-45AA-B485-C4ED95F48B66 Friday, October 03, 2003 The campaign is probably 18 months away but Klein gave the horn a few toots Thursday night to attract our attention, unveiling what he called the "essence" of the Alberta Tories' election platform. Speaking at the first premier's dinner of the season, Klein talked about how he didn't want to suffer the same car wreck as the Ernie Eves government which had its brake lines cut by voters. "They fired those guys, right?" Klein said. "I don't want to get fired," he said several times during the night, as if he's actually worried about it. His platform looks like a winner, if you keep in mind the highly successful 2001 campaign. The 2005 platform contains the same three crucial ingredients for voters: Bribe them, baffle them and bore them. On the bribery side, we already know about natural gas rebates for the next three winters. Now, Klein is talking about tax cuts. "I'm not thinking of anything in particular. I'm thinking of taxes generally. It could be personal taxes, it could be business tax, it could be combination of the two. It could be health-care premiums." Wow. The money would come from surpluses, he said. That would seem to fly in the face of the government's own policy of using surplus money for one-time events such as debt reduction or building infrastructure projects such as hospitals and schools. "I'm not saying that (tax cuts) will be done or won't be done," Klein added, perhaps sensing he had said too much. "I'm saying it's possible." On the baffle side, Klein unveiled the bare bones of a 20-year plan for Alberta's future, one with four "pillars:" innovation; education; global competition and making Alberta "the best place in Canada to live, work and visit." It was supposed to be a 10-year plan but cabinet decided at its annual retreat in Medicine Hat last month to double the time frame. This government is not really worried about being fired or driving itself over a cliff anytime in the near future. It is worried about not having a vision beyond paying off the debt. "People have said constantly, and I've been trying to deal with this, is what kind of a vision do we present?" said Klein. "We've been accused many times of not having a vision." If a 10-year plan is good, a 20-year plan must be better. Having a long-range plan is a good idea. If you can figure out what it is. Klein talks about adding value to our resources. Instead of merely growing wheat, we make more products out of wheat to export to other provinces and countries. Instead of simply burning coal to generate electricity, we extract methane to generate cleaner sources of power. "That will mean building more value into our traditional goods and services in order to achieve greater returns. We've already seen this principle applied to the petrochemical industry with phenomenal results. Over the next two decades, we've got to apply it to all parts of the economy in order to stay on top." It's not just about money. It's also, as Klein has said before, about "sustainability," of providing reliable social services. Of particular importance these days is the issue of education, which is creating headaches for government MLAs, particularly those in Edmonton. "So, whether it's family violence, safe communities, health care or other government priorities, this fourth pillar of the strategy is crucial to Alberta's continued success. It recognizes that economic prosperity is not an end in itself. Rather, economic success is what gives the province the tools to make a better, safer and freer society for the people who live here." How do we get there? It is all frustratingly vague. It sounds so much like apple pie you could add ice cream and eat it for dessert. We'll get details, Klein promised, in next year's budget. Is it boring? Well, yes. But I'm only quoting Klein. "Let's look down the road and see how we develop a vision to stimulate and sustain the economy. So that's the vision. Boring? Perhaps. But that's the vision." Klein promised, and delivered, a successfully boring campaign in 2001. The fewer issues during an election campaign, the better for any majority government. That's why Klein is trying to stamp out the brush fires now. Spend more money on schools and hospitals to appease the liberal-left. Rail against Ottawa and the Kyoto accord to appease the right. Provide more tax cuts and energy rebates to appease everyone. Complacent voters are happy voters. They won't cut your government's brake lines. Someone should have told Ernie Eves.
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