EDMONTON - Eight months after his surprise victory in Alberta's Conservative leadership race, Premier Ed Stelmach is trying to brush off dismal poll results and shake the unkind moniker of "Mr. Dithers" that some critics are using to describe the rookie premier's cautious leadership style.
Political analyst Jim Lightbody says Stelmach was a relative unknown when he won the Tory leadership, but now that Albertans know him they're "quite unimpressed."
"He seems like a very nice man who is in way over his head," said Lightbody, a political science professor at the University of Alberta. He says the Mr. Dithers tag is much deserved because Stelmach has been indecisive on key issues, such as nuclear energy and a growing scandal over Alberta's energy regulator hiring investigators to spy on citizens.
"We genuinely have an aimless ship here and it does seem to be sinking."
Stelmach bristles at the growing chorus of critics who are calling on him to take a firm stand on key issues.
"I am a leader. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't a leader," the premier told The Canadian Press in his first interview with the news agency since he became premier.
"We are doing very well as a province. Yes, there are issues. But I don't know of any other place in the world that has the quality of life that we have here.
"Will there be people without homes? Yes. Will there be some sick people that we can't save, despite all the medical technology that we have? Yes, there will be. But people are continuing to move here because where else are they going to go in Canada?"
Recent opinion polls indicate Alberta's Progressive Conservatives have sunk to their lowest approval rating since 1992, although many voters who have abandoned the party say they are undecided, so the opposition parties are still well back and showing few gains.
Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel says there's no question there are serious problems within the Stelmach government. He has locked horns with the premier a couple of times on funding issues. Mandel says a large part of Stelmach's problem is that former premier Ralph Klein left a huge backlog of much-needed building projects.
"So all the infrastructure projects that weren't done from 1993 to 2006 are coming home to roost and people are saying 'Why weren't those done?,' " he said. "Really, you should have asked the previous government, which he was a part of, but I think that's a big one."
NDP Leader Brian Mason also describes Stelmach as a nice man who's simply "out of his depth." Mason, too, says Stelmach has been saddled with the "mess" left behind by the Klein government.
"At a time when Alberta is facing very, very critical decisions and in fact the whole direction of the province is under consideration, we don't have the leadership to take us where we need to go."
Stelmach dumped many of Klein's senior ministers after taking office in January and rewarded his strongest supporters, many of them former backbenchers from rural constituencies, with key cabinet posts.
Critics and the opposition parties denounced the new cabinet as too inexperienced and too rural. Some wondered aloud if the Beverly Hillbillies had taken over the governing of Alberta.
Stelmach is quick to list some of the major accomplishments of his rookie ministers, including adding billions of dollars to the capital budget for new schools, hospitals and other building projects.
The premier also says his government will be making some key announcements before the next provincial election. He hinted that this may include a high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary and some unspecified tax help for families.
"How do we work with families?" he said. "Raising children is much more expensive, housing is more expensive. So how do we help out families, because we need growth in this province."
For now, Stelmach has been left with the delicate job of trying to calm Tory supporters, some of whom appear to be in panic mode. Political consultant Rod Love, who was one of Klein's closest advisers, says although the Tories were fighting for their political lives in 1992, at least there was an upward trend. "It will take a lot of guts to call an election when the polls are trending downward," said Love.
Lightbody expects Stelmach will drop the election writ sometime after spring seeding, possibly in June. This could set the stage for one of the more exciting election campaigns in the last three decades, since for years the Tories have dominated in the legislature.
"The strange thing about politics, even in Alberta, is that when it starts to go down, it tends to gain momentum," he said. "I think the premier has to be very decisive in a small number of issue areas, possibly on nuclear energy, certainly on the oil exploration in the northeast.
"He has to show leadership or he won't be expected to serve as the leader."
