Election night in Alberta was a reflection of the re-elected premier’s journey over the past few months: painful.
Due to the late closing of some polling stations, tellers counted the ballots late into the night before awarding victory to Danielle Smith of the United Conservative Party (UCP).
Clearly, the populist recipe worked. Mme Smith managed to get re-elected, despite the aberrations she said. Since she took power seven months ago, she has been swimming from one controversy to another.
She said people who got vaccinated against COVID-19 had “fallen under the spell of tyrants,” in reference to Adolf Hitler.
She sang the praises of the “bastion of freedom” found in Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis has attacked the right to abortion in addition to strongly opposing sanitary measures against COVID-19.
Worse still, she undermined democracy by urging her Minister of Justice to intervene in a criminal case related to the blocking of the Coutts border crossing by truckers. The very scathing report of the Ethics Commissioner could have been the death warrant of another politician.
But not that of Danielle Smith.
Her supporters, conservative to the core, were ready to pass the towel, provided that she preaches in their direction: less taxes, more oil.
She gave them what they wanted, arguing for the maintenance of the “Alberta advantage” which is based on the idea that a very low tax rate will attract companies, create jobs and, ultimately , wealth for all.
While her New Democrat rival, Rachel Notley, plagued her campaign by promising to raise taxes on big business from 8% to 11%, Ms.me Smith was heading in the opposite direction.
Not only did she dangle a tax cut, but she even pledged to table a bill forcing the province to hold a referendum before proceeding with any future tax hikes.
This desire to give the floor back to citizens, by referendum, has been a philosophy that has been well established since the 1990s among right-wing political parties, whether it be the Reform Party, on the federal scene, or the Wildrose, in Alberta.
But in reality, this absurd idea is particularly ill-advised. Do you really think citizens will vote for tax increases? In Alberta?
By acting in this way, the right places its valve which will prevent it from adjusting the shot if public finances require it. The province will have no choice but to go into debt or cut services in a cowboy fashion when the price of oil falls.
This highly ideological way of cutting public debate short is harmful. This is not how M.me Smith will rally the population, despite the call for unity she launched after her victory.
It must be said that his party only obtained a narrow majority against the New Democrats, who won 44% of the vote, more than when they took power in 2015 in favor of a divided right.
Alberta therefore finds itself more polarized than ever. With conservatives who have never been so weak, on a ground that has always been conquered to them in advance. The province finds itself split between cities, which voted NDP, and rural communities, which supported the United Conservatives.
With such a divide, which can be found almost everywhere in the world, including in Quebec, the danger is to end up with voters who each live on their own planet, with parties that foster a dialogue of the deaf, creating political blockages .
To move forward, you have to understand yourself. To find common ground, extreme positions must be set aside.
Moreover, if the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre takes notes, he will keep in mind that an overly radical position could seriously harm him in the next federal election.