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Leaders’ farewell at legislature

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, in his farewell speech to the legislature Thursday, said personal success in politics is measured not by what is gained, but by two things not lost.
Ed Stelmach
Premier Ed Stelmach speaks at a press conference on his last day at the Legislature in Edmonton on Thursday. Stelmach fought back tears as opposition politicians and his own caucus paid tribute to him. He was given two standing ovations on the closing day of the spring legislature sitting.

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, in his farewell speech to the legislature Thursday, said personal success in politics is measured not by what is gained, but by two things not lost.

“One is to have your family at your side when you leave politics. And the other is to have your personal integrity,” Stelmach told the house, with his wife Marie and family looking down from the gallery above.

“Those are two very important measurements for all politicians either in this assembly or across this great country.”

Stelmach fought back tears as opposition politicians and his own caucus paid tribute to him. He was given two standing ovations on the closing day of the spring legislature sitting.

Stelmach, 60, will stay on as premier until his Progressive Conservative Party selects a new leader in September.

Tributes were paid not only to Stelmach, but also to David Swann, leader of the Official Opposition Alberta Liberals. Swann is stepping down as party leader but plans to run again in his Calgary riding and sit as a regular member of the legislature.

Swann, in his final speech from the front bench, thanked his colleagues, his family, and especially his wife, who was also up in the gallery.

“She’s always wanted to be a saint. She achieved it in my lifetime,” said Swann.

“Thank you very much, Laureen, for sticking with me through all of this. I’m standing here in front of all of Alberta saying ‘I love you,”’ he said, looking up at her as politicians on both sides of the chamber applauded and she looked down and blew him a kiss.

It was a mellow end to a bitter legislature session that again saw Stelmach’s Tories fend off renewed accusations of mismanaging the health-care system.

The session saw the four opposition parties unite to demand the province call a full public inquiry into escalating accusations that health managers had bullied and intimidated doctors into keeping quiet about shoddy patient care.

The debate sucked almost all of the oxygen out of every other issue during the sitting, which lasted just 34 days over three months.

Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky resisted calls for the inquiry, saying any evidence of doctor intimidation is anecdotal and unproven. And he said even if proven true it may not prove what the opposition calls “a culture of intimidation.”

Zwozdesky did task the arm’s-length Health Quality Council to examine problems.

The Liberals took the lead on the fight, presenting civil court claims and testimony of health professionals who claimed they had been bullied into silence.

“What we saw this session was a government on the run, one doing its best to duck and dodge the issues rather than face them head-on,” said Swann.

“It’s an ongoing struggle and it’s not going to end with this session.”

Stelmach’s departure this summer will see the Tories pick their fifth leader while they also celebrate 40 consecutive years in power.

When he leaves, Stelmach will have served as Alberta’s 13th premier for almost five years, having taken over from Ralph Klein in December 2006.

He leaves a chequered record.

When Stelmach got the job, he had multibillion-dollar budget surpluses to work with because of high oil and gas prices. But he also inherited a long list of roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals to build to meet the needs of an exploding population.

He launched myriad infrastructure projects and took action to reduce homelessness — achievements that are expected to frame his legacy.

In March 2008 he won a landslide majority, but within a year everything changed. The global economy tanked and the multibillion-dollar surpluses evaporated into multibillion-dollar deficits.

Stelmach decided to pay the deficits out of rainy-day funds and continue funding infrastructure projects.

It was a decision that caused a falling out with then finance minister Ted Morton and the fiscally hawkish wing of his caucus. It was a breach he reportedly couldn’t heal, and on Jan. 25 he announced his plan to move on.

Morton, who is now running for the leadership, was not in the house Thursday.

Opposition NDP Leader Brian Mason said Stelmach was the victim of unfortunate timing given the global economic meltdown. But Mason said he could have learned a thing or two from Klein on how to hold up the centre pole of a big-tent party.

Klein “knew when to throw some red meat at the right wing of his party — something I don’t think Mr. Stelmach figured out,” said Mason.

Most disturbing for Tory party stalwarts was the rise under Stelmach of the Wildrose Alliance.

The Alliance, composed of many disaffected Tories, has gained steam and popularity in the last two years against a government it believes has abandoned its fiscal conservative principles and compounded the error by imposing top-down decision making that brooks no dissent from the party or backbenches.

The Alliance has four members in the 83-seat legislature. Three are members of Stelmach’s caucus who were either kicked out or quit.

Those three — Rob Anderson, Heather Forsyth and Guy Boutilier — proved Thursday that even on a day when politicians of all stripes metaphorically meet at the centre aisle to shake hands, some wounds run deep.

The trio didn’t come to the chamber to fete their former leader. Their presence was replaced by three high-backed, empty swivel chairs.