Phendrana Drifts

Yesterday’s defection of Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth sent a lovely ripple through Alberta’s political scene yesterday and ensured the first day back for many in the Legislature and beyond was at least interesting. As many have noted, including the Premier’s office, this is not a total surprise but has certainly set the tone for the new year and it likely is not the tone Premier Ed Stelmach was hoping for.

I for one would not be shocked if this was only the beginning of a few more defections, as there are bound to be hurt egos in the upcoming cabinet shuffle and government revenues force a difficult budget to be tabled in February. If this is going to be a semi-regular occurrence, it will bring up a few questions around floor crossing, indeed questioning the motives and legitimacy of Forsyth and Anderson’s decision has already begun. You can read Chris Labossiere’s take here, the quote from the Airdrie-Chestermere PC Association’s here as well as Brian Mason calling for a by-election at iNews 880.

And they are important questions to ask, although admittedly when a Progressive Conservative or a New Democrat does it, it rings a little hollow. The Tories certainly didn’t force Stan Woloshyn, Gene Zwozdesky or Julius Yanikowsky to run in a by-election when they crossed the floor, and if a Tory went over to the Mason’s New Democrats we would be far more concerned about the impending end of the world to worry ourselves over a by-election. But in a electoral atmosphere dominated by partisan parties and especially their leaders it is a fair statement that most people vote for the party or the leader, and the MLA or MP are kind of a secondary thought. So if a member changes parties mid-stream, shouldn’t they go back to the polls? I don’t think so.

I am fan of floor crossing – for selfish and less selfish reasons. Selfishly, I think they are cool. They liven things up. They make politics more interesting and they offer a glimpse of personalities and undercurrents that focusing exclusively on leaders does not. It helps keep the system dynamic and responsive, and while it can heavily politicize government as well , it does make for interesting reading on Monday morning. I’ve blogged a little about it before, but clearly I’m a fan.

Less selfishly, it curbs the power of the executive in our system to dominate the legislative branch. And to be clear, the executive in the form of the cabinet and especially the first minister dominates our system. Rob Anderson reflected on his time in the PC caucus and said “elected MLAs generally have little, if any, real input into the decisions that impact the lives of their constituents,” but neat part of floor crossing is that it proves that wrong. Making the decision he has Anderson has guaranteed that his actions will have an impact on the decision-making process and the minds of unelected advisors to the Premier.

The voters in Calgary-Fish Creek and Airdrie-Chestermere will get their chance to pass judgment on yesterday’s floor crossing soon enough, 2012 if not sooner. And if the opening week of 2010 is any indication, a lot will happen between now and then.

Postscript: Paul Stanway from Premier Stelmach’s office said “It’s not that unexpected,” when asked about the poll numbers that put the Wildrose Alliance way ahead last month. On the defections yesterday he said “We’ve known this was going to happen.” Umm… kind of odd sound bytes, don’t you think? Not the quotes expected from the Premier or from the office of the leader of the dominant party in Alberta. You would think if the Premier’s office can see it coming, they might do something about it…