daveberta.ca – Alberta politics blog

5 Responses on pc party shoots the [shiraz] shariff. premier redford to appoint a new candidate in calgary-west.

• By Pat at February 9th, 2012

  In the interest of open and transparency with the pubic the Party needs to make all details of the irregularities known.

• By ruralgal at February 9th, 2012

  I do agree! I again read the Herald this AM. No candidate found fault (one admits he was not even contacted by the Party) to get his input. Ron Liepert reported being at the polls and finding that the process was smooth and he found no fault. So who objected! The Party did not want this candidate – so they found a reason. Well there goes democracy. Appointment – my understanding is the Campaign Financial Guy of Redford’s leadership run. Is this rumor true? If it is, democracy has definitely packed her bags and left!

• By Sam Gunsch at February 9th, 2012

  Basic, obvious speculation re apparent ouster of Shariff:

  The Corporation’s B of D thought Shariff’s election did not pass the, “responsible” or “prosperity” tests for Alberta Conservatives Inc.. In the way of the ‘program’.

  Correcting the voters mistake… just best practices, you know.

  excerpt: “The surface argument of corporatism has always been that democracy is inefficient, ineffective, corrupting, subject to whims and emotions.

  Corporatism, on the other hand, presents itself as professional and responsible. It promises to deliver prosperity by helping those who know how to do their jobs properly and in concert.” from John Ralston Saul, def’n corporatism, in The Doubter’s Companion, (1994) pg. 75

  And yeah, re corporatism, I *am* arguing that from the evidence I see, the Party functions primarily like a corporation, it does not function much as a democracy. When was the last time party delegates saw a policy taken up from the floor? As opposed to the now typical ‘ratification’ of what the Leipert’s/Redford’s design?

  And re the machinations of what is essentially a joint-venture corporation with a program: Why did Stelmach take the walk? Or more to the point: Why was he taken out?

  Clues found here: Which division of the joint-venture benefited from pushing Stelmach’s ratings as AB’s CEO into the tank?

  And yeah, I’m arguing that the Corporation ensures that Alberta doesn’t much function as a democracy based on and responsive to citizens. It’s a society where what the groups want (corporations) , is what gets done. I’m far from the first argue this of course.

  See Mark Lisac’s, Klein Revolution, for most significant political analysis regarding the arrival in AB of corporatism via rigged consultations mostly, when he reported on corporatism being installed as the dominant mode of AB collective decision-making early in the Klein era, in a 1993 EJ column. See Lisac’s take on AB corporatism in chapter 9, The Corporate Province, of his book The Klein Revolution.

  And read Vivonne’s book Klein-coulda’-Superstar for how AB corporatism is enforced.

  Shariff’s just the latest not grasp that he was obstructing the ‘program’ of the joint-venture.
  It seems to the me the evidence continues to accumulate.

  Shariff’s experience reminds me that corporatism has been synonymous with syndicalism (again, see Lisac).
  You know where I’m going. Syndicate. The Family. Remember, re VLT’s, Kowalski once said there is only ‘one godfather’ in this province. Anyone still think that only applies to allocating gambling revenues?

  By the way, joint-venture is an apt term to flesh out how corporatism is distinct from merely old-fashioned lobbying/simple ‘business influence’ on government policy, in that corporatism is in fact an actual alternate model of society and societal governance, the ‘rival school’ of representative government in democracy(Saul).

  I’ve taken joint-venture directly from Lisac’s writing in Chap. 9/Klein Rev. where he mulls on the most accurate terminology for describing the Alberta species of corporatism.

  And: like Lisac and Saul, I’m not saying Alberta is a fascist polity. It’s been transformed into a Corporatist polity. Mussolini’s insight was to build his fascism on the intellectual framework corporatism provides. But corporatism lacks significant features of fascism.

  AB’s corporatism merely manifests as just the typical ‘efficiency’, father-knows-best type of stuff imposed on behalf of *the* dominant corporate partners, e.g. $Billions in powerlines imposed via Bill 50.

  AB’s powerlines/Bill 50 are however unusual in that some normally powerful corporate divisions are seeing how, now and then, even certain elite groups have to sometimes take one for the joint-venture. It’s just business.

  Sam Gunsch

• By Who shot Shariff? More lessons in democracy, Alberta-style | Wildrose Edmonton-McClung CA at February 9th, 2012

  [...] anything from the Conservative Party. Maybe that accounts for the buzz yesterday afternoon that Farouk Adatia, CFO of Redford’s leadership campaign who was defeated in his bid for the Calgary-Hawkwood [...]

• By ruralgal at February 10th, 2012

  another loser turns into a winner. Is there any one else that needs a plce at the public trough? We have Stephen Carter (has he paid back the Uof A), Kelly Charlebois (400,000 no reporting consultant), Bronco (what the LRT runs through land I own – I never knew), the head of the ATA, school principals. Anyone out there just plain folks? I am wondering if we breathe the same air.
  I would like to see fair and honest nominations, would like clean credentials, I would like to see the folks be blessed with democracy. But the voters may be willing to just stay at home again – we dropped below 50% turnout – aiming for 25% this time.