Usually, by the time a writ is issued for an election, there is some indication what the ballot box question is going to be. Considering how short the current election period is at just 27 days, one would think this would be particularly clear for the upcoming vote. It is not.
The Sask Party immediately came out with tired old attacks on the NDP, Premier Brad Wall reminiscing about the bad old days of mass youth exodus and long surgical wait times, blaming the NDP and taking credit for the boom times he had nothing to do with creating and squandered.
And speaking of tired and old, the Saskatchewan Party election slogan? Keep Saskatchewan Strong. Yawn.
The second party is not doing much better. Out of the gates, the slogan “Stop Sask Party Waste” is not really resonating, despite its truth in advertising.
NDP leader Cam Broten did make one actual promise, though. He is going to shut down Saskbuilds, the Crown corporation responsible for ill-conceived public-private partnerships. Unfortunately, he followed that up by saying, “First step is to cut the waste, then spend in the smartest, most cost–effective way and be focused on things that actually support the economy.”
He might as well have said, “Hosd soptj agjioj paodjgjlj irg pjjpdj, tndf osdfj mlmojf, ifoglsdjfh jgjad pjom kfgjihg,” which is almost as meaningful.
Even that, though, is as meaningful as Brad Wall’s promise not to make promises. He is couching this as being prudent with the Province’s finances, but honestly, it’s hard not to see it as a leader trying to coast on his poll numbers, which remain inexplicably high.
Perhaps the explanation is that until now, Broten and the Opposition have been basically missing in action. Perhaps we should be grateful that all the parties have saved their campaigning for the actual election campaign, which is, in a way, a breath of fresh air compared to the almost permanent campaign developing at the federal level.
Nevertheless, it’s almost like nobody is really trying here. Brad Wall was actually in Yorkton recently, but you’d never know it. He had a private meeting with City Council and then piggy-backed on a photo-op about palliative care that had nothing to do with the provincial government. Just a few days before the writ was issued he bailed out on an all-leaders forum on rural health.
On the other side, the NDP candidate for Yorkton—does anybody know who the NDP candidate for Yorkton is?—has declined the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce’s invitation to its all-candidate forum. Apparently, somebody who wants to represent us in the legislature has better things to do than represent himself to voters.
And, despite some media efforts to spotlight the fact there are three other parties—four if you count the Western Independence Party, which is registered for the election, but has yet to nominate any candidates—this promises to be a two-horse race, although ‘race’ is an overstatement if there ever was one. Kudos to Victor Lau and the Green Party for putting up a full slate of candidates, though.
If this editorial seems cynical, Saskatchewanians have a right to be cynical right now. We are not being served by the party in power, unless, of course, you’re one of the government’s corporate cronies. Unfortunately, though, there is effectively no opposition, and no opposition to the opposition either.
This is an election that will likely be won by default on the basis there really is almost nobody worth voting for. Apathy favours incumbents, as do good times. Despite growing unemployment and sagging confidence, Saskatchewan has not really felt the full brunt of the tanking economy… yet.
Expect really low turnouts at the polls and a status quo result. About the only thing we can really hope for is that maybe the Sask Party majority is diminished somewhat and maybe we get an MLA or two from a third party just to shake things up and make the 28th Legislature interesting.
