Former Edmonton McClung MLA, who was unseated by David Xiao in the last election has announced his leadership intentions. Although Elsalhy has not held an official kick-off event as of yet, he did make his intentions clear and very public in an interview with Calgary Herald reporter Renata D'Aliesio yesterday.
Check it out: www.elsalhy.com,
And then there were two.
The Alberta Liberals' worst kept secret became official this morning when Deputy Leader and Calgary Currie MLA Dave Taylor announced his bid for leadership of the limping party. Since he was first elected four years ago, Taylor - a former radio announcer with a big voice and often even bigger head - has made little secret of his eventual desire to take over from Kevin Taft.
It is reasonable to expect that the result of Liberals' leadership contest will hinge on the desirability of each candidate's proposed solution to the party's existential crisis. In this respect and to his credit, Taylor has already put forward his vision for the party (by allying himself with the 'New Liberal' group and its somewhat aggressive defender Cory Hogan).
Taylor is considered by many to be a frontrunner, which puts an interesting spin on the classic 'Battle of Alberta' paradigm. Could it be that the main push for a revitalized opposition in this province is coming from not Redmonton, but rather from a centrist politician from the home of big oil and big bank accounts, Calgary? If so, what shape will this opposition take? Is this a parade the traditional, more left-leaning Edmonton Liberals are willing to get behind? Either way, it will be interesting to see how both the race and the Liberals convention in October plays out. Whatever happens, you can bet that the shape and success/failure of any renewed opposition movement will say a lot more about our province than a rushed commentator like myself ever could.
For more on Taylor's campaign, check out his (barely functional) website at www.tayloralberta.ca
