I too have some hopes that the left/centre-left in Alberta can capitalize on some potential vote-splitting on the right. We’ll see what happens in a couple of years.
What is most discouraging about the results of this poll is the fact that it’s very unlikely that most of the 39% of respondents favouring the Wildrose Party actually know anything about them! So far the media has not reported policy positions of the Wildrose. So in order to have any idea, one would have to visit their website and read their policy statements. It’s unlikely that many people have done this. So it’s absurd that they appear to have a lead in public opinion. What does this show about the judgments of Albertan voters? To me, it shows stupidity and irrationality.
Further disappointment comes from the fact that the left/centre-left parties of Alberta have not capitalized in the slightest on the plummeting support of the Tories. The Liberal support has not moved much in years, cemented around 25%. Perhaps if we saw them taking action, and capturing some more media attention, their fortunes could improve. Or perhaps the Liberal brand is just dead in Alberta, with no chance of recovery. The NDP is worse off, with 9% support province-wide, with a barely registered level of support outside central Edmonton.
I’m happy that Alberta politics appears to be becoming more interesting. But I hold out little hope for a strengthened centre-left presence. All the right-wing vote-splitting you could hope for means nothing if the left cannot gain voters from the Tories, which so far it appears they cannot.
Here’s hoping though!
This is crap. I can’t believe that Albertans could be so stupid that the majority now want to vote for a party they know nothing about. We should be ashamed.
Amazing.
I don’t know if this is in fact a bad thing for the left in Alberta. I hope that it will result in increased seat totals for the leftist parties.
Possibilities:
- Increasing vote fragmentation on the right in some ridings.
- Panicking tories veer rightward because that’s where they see the votes and alienate centrist voters
- Increased turnout from all sides due to renewed interest in provincial politics and perhaps a little worry about the future.
- I ♥ minority governments.
Even if it doesn’t give the ND and the Liberals more seats, I would rather have a Wildrose minority or narrow majority than the kind of huge Tory majority that we’ve had for the last several years, no matter how distasteful some of their policies are (not that they even really have policies yet). It would make the assembly actually matter, and it might help to keep more than 40% of us interested.
