Smith’s televised message to Alberta was brief, uninformative and unconvincing.

Prime Minister Daniel Smith’s nine-minute televised message to the people of Alberta last night had at least the virtue of brevity, but it can be roughly divided into four parts.

1. Inflation is Justin Trudeau’s fault, but there’s a lot of money here, so please vote for me for God’s sake.

2. Fix your physical condition. (Sorry, no details.)

3. Sovereign law! (But within United Canada.)

4. Don’t pay attention to what I said before. I was trying to sell a newspaper or something.

Will this be the basis that if a general election were held today, Prime Minister Smith could overcome the poll deficit that puts the opposition NDP, led by Rachel Notley, on the territory of the majority government?

Well anything is possible. After all, this is the age of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. Still, it seems a little overkill under the circumstances.

The Conservative Party of Canada, led by Stephen Harper, has had considerable success with small tax incentives aimed at soccer moms and a similarly narrow but influential slice of the population.

As for Smith’s “affordable package” pitch, her Brain Trust appears to have decided on a cruder version of the same approach, resulting in a list of $2.4 billion pre-election giveaways that total.

she said her government Inflation Relief Act At next week’s Congress, payments will be made to seniors, families with children, and income support recipients. petrol tax exemption. re-indexed support; discounts on electricity bills, etc.; The payment will expire in his six months immediately after the next election.

Trevisor Travis Toos, an old hound of austerity, must have wanted to go back to the farm and walk in the snow. He probably thinks Smith’s plan, as he borrows words, is a black hole of vote-buying deals!

Not everything on the list is a bad idea, but contrary to the prime minister’s claims, there isn’t one for everyone.

Some groups have definitely been left behind. “She has two children under the age of 18 and a household income of her $175,000 makes her $1,200.” University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young tweeted after the speech. “A couple in his late 60s making $175,000 makes $1,200. People aged 18-64 who make $30,000 get nothing unless they are AISH recipients.”

There seems to have been a general buzz in the last few days about Smith opting for Ralph Klein-style straight cash presents for everyone.

So will last night’s complicated list of promises leave many Albertans left grumpy, or too distracted to keep track of their share of the loot?

probably.

Then there’s Smith’s medical plan. This is important because there is near-universal consensus that the state’s healthcare system is a mess, and based on what the Prime Minister recently said about how introducing American-style healthcare would fix it, There are many concerns.

Nearly 60% of voters are said to believe the United Conservative Party (UCP) is on the wrong track when it comes to healthcare, according to a recent poll. Previous Smith’s plan to groom us for American-style health care with co-payments and fees hit the news feeds.

But her so-called health care action plan is just a list of things she’s trying to fix: shorter emergency room wait times, better ambulance response times, and shorter wait times for surgeries.

University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley said in a tweet last night: not the plan. ”

Then there was sovereign law Again, like a dog with a bone, despite scaring many voters, Smith can’t leave alone. Sovereignty under Canadian Union Lawso it’s okay!

Finally, Smith was a cynical journalist, so there was a soft-spoken assurance that we didn’t have to worry our pretty heads about everything she had said before.

I didn’t make this up. Here’s what she actually said:

“I know I’m far from perfect and I’ve made mistakes. Having spent decades in the media and hosting talk shows, I’ve debated hundreds of different topics and sometimes I’ve taken controversial positions, many of which have evolved and changed as I’ve grown up and learned from listening to you.”

Readers will recall that Smith’s most recent and most controversial past position on health care copays and royalties was announced in June 2021 and has been repeated several times since.

“I’m no longer a talk show host or a media commentator,” she continued, with a smug look on her face. It is to provide all Albertans with everything I have and to the best of my ability. I must humbly listen and continue to learn from you.”

This actually looks better in print than it sounds. Readers are encouraged to watch the final moments of the video for themselves.

As U of C professor Young said in a Substack post yesterday, “Voters are facing the question of who Danielle Smith really is. Or a free-spending prime minister feeling the pain of inflation? ”

i doubt it i’ve been listening to you By May 29th, he could change his mind enough to restore Smith’s approval ratings.

So don’t expect to go to the polls until at least the fall, possibly 2024.

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