Minister Oberg not running again
Yet another Progressive Conservative MLA announces he is not going to run in the next provincial election.
Lyle Oberg came out after days of speculation and proclaimed he will not run for re-election in the constituency of Strathmore-Brooks.
The official word came after Oberg sent an e-mail to his co-workers and friends (some of the enemies apparently) in the PC caucus. He explained he is moving on to new challenges and thanked former premier Ralph Klein and current premier Ed Stelmach.
But thanking Stelmach seems a little odd considering insiders are saying it was the Premier himself who squeezed Oberg out of politics. Rumour has it (because these allegations remain rumours until confirmed) that Stelmach explained to Oberg there will be no cabinet position for him after the next election. So our Finance Minister had a choice, he could become a backbencher or bow out. Obviously he didn’t want the embarrassment of sitting in the section in which some may say is reserved for seat warming politicians.
The key issues that lead to this? Apparently the premier and finance minister butted heads on a number of things including the revamping of the royalty system.
Peter McCormick, a political scientist with the University of Lethbridge, believes Stelmach is clearing house and replacing nay-sayers with those who see eye to eye with him. McCormick was a little surprised that Oberg would be one of those to fall considering the Brooks politician was one of the people who threw his support behind Stelmach after being voted out of the PC Leadership Race last year. He was rewarded for his support with the finance portfolio.
Oberg is the latest in a number of MLA’s who say they are not trying to return to government … the other high-profile Tory stepping down is Calgary MLA Harvey Cenaiko who made his announcement months ago.
So who will replace him? Well it won’t be easy to get someone as experienced as Oberg. McCormick doesn’t think it will give Calgary more exposure unless someone in the next election really makes some heads turn. He expects it to be an I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine scenario. That could mean another northern rural MLA gets a nice spot in this government and lead to a cabinet that McCormick has called “revenge of the northern farm boys.”
On a side note, this is a clip reporters love. It is a catchy phrase that makes it’s point in a quick manner. Also it makes people listen…which is what radio is all about.
Back to the point of this story, this Oberg decision could be a good thing for all of us. McCormick says if Stelmach can find the perfect man for the job after the next election we could be laughing all the way to the bank. He believes it will be very interesting to see what moves are made in cabinet following that election and which MLA’s get the good jobs.
Of course all of these scenarios regarding cabinet revolve around the event that the PC’s win the next election whenever it’s called. Political pundits are predicting we’ll head to the polls in March after the writ is dropped in February. If another party surprises the country (not just the province) and comes to power…we’ll have a new finance minister that no one expected.