Thread by @AndersonBooz

1/ As knives come out in UCP over the Sky Palace Dinner, let's spare a moment to think about how none of these MLAs broke ranks over racism, over moneylaundering, identity theft, election fraud, harassment, homophobia, attacks on the poor, the war on MDs, the

#abpoli #ableg

2/ hijacking of ATRF, the shenanigans to pervert #abpse, the compulsive lying, the widespread incompetence, the abuses of democracy - none of those were enough to make the UCP MLAs take a stand on principle.

But the Sky Palace Dinner does.

Because it's about showing the public

3/ the government's entitlement. It isn't about ideology and policy - which most Albertans seem not to mind - but about character.

Redford was seduced by it. Prentice was seduced by it. Both started with seeming genuine intention of serving Alberta, but seemed to lose their way

4/ and started serving themselves.

Kenney was always about serving himself, IMO. But he talked about serving Alberta. Every bad choice, every boneheaded move, has been cloaked in that rhetoric.

But the Sky Palace Dinner can't be spun that way. Not even by the devoted.

5/ Got me thinking.

See, I loathed Klein for all the damage he did to Alberta. But I admit also to finding him repellent for the ugly ways power went to his head. On the other hand, I had great appreciation for Stelmach, who I felt wanted to serve Alberta as a whole and who was

6/ as near as I can tell an honest, good person who was not personally corrupted by power.

I think Albertans want their Premier to be intelligent, principled, and to be seen as genuinely serving the interests of all Albertans. As long as their policies and behaviours can be

7/ spun that way, they'll overlook bad policy and mismanagement. But when it tilts into flaunting privilege - they don't like the optics.

Redford and Prentice disappointed me despite some movement in the right direction - they also became a perception problem for their party.

8/ Stelmach did not disappoint me (his party did) and Notley did not disappoint me (I expected the newbie NDP govt to be a shitshow, frankly, and was pleasantly surprised by how well they adapted to government status).

So here we are at the Sky Palace Dinner. The rats aren't

9/ deserting a sinking ship - they're staying on the ship and testing to see if the captain is wounded enough to be eaten. They're not having a moral revelation. They're not demonstrating integrity and character.

They're just hoping to avoid being tainted by the appearance of

10/ privilege. Because that loses more votes than all the incompetence, bigotry and dishonesty combined.

Albertans want their post-Lougheed premiers to seem humble, to cater to populism even if their policies are bad.

I realize I want good policies and competent govt, but I too

11/ place a great deal of weight on this idea that the Premier must not abuse privilege or seem self-serving. But for me it's not about the effect on the party's fortunes. It's about my need to feel there is moral leadership at work.

I felt that with Stelmach. I feel it with

12/ Notley.

Perhaps some people thought that, despite his past, Kenney would flourish as Premier. That, given the chance to be a leader, he would transcend his record and be better - be his best person.

Two years have stripped away any such hopes. And the focus for that

13/ realization among his followers has become the Sky Palace Dinner.

It's sad that none of his history or broader #UCPcorruption has led them to the conclusion before now.

Perhaps people will choose more wisely in 2023.

/end