Liberal Official Opposition leader David Swann speaks at a press conference on his last day at the Legislature in Edmonton on Thursday, May 12, 2011. 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.Ben Lemphers
Alberta's legislature hosted the political equivalent of a group hug in Question Period Thursday as Premier Ed Stelmach and his arch (elected) rival, Liberal David Swann, made their last appearances in the leg as their parties' respective leaders.
Sort of.
Interim leaders are not part of the plan; both are sticking around until their leadership races shake out successors. Mr. Swann, however, is taking it one step further. He plans to run for a seat in the next election, and personally urged Erick Ambtman to run for Liberal president during the party's last election. Mr. Swann's man won the job.
Mr. Swann's resignation, which came as a surprise and was accompanied by obligatory discussions about internal discord, is therefore far from a clean break.
But even if Mr. Swann, a 61-year-old doctor, plays puppet master, that doesn't mean he'll wield tremendous amounts of influence in Alberta's politics. The Liberals haven't had power here in about 90 years, and that's unlikely to change. Even though many Albertans lost faith in Mr. Stelmach's government, the right-wing Wildrose Alliance is considered the Conservatives' chief threat, even though it has only four seats in the legislature. Three of those MLAs were once part of the Conservative caucus, with some holding cabinet positions. They've made crossing the floor and switching alliances popular activities in Edmonton.
Wildrose's gains will continue to come at the Conservatives' expense - they are equally popular in the province right now - and the split might give the provincial Liberals a chance to tally up more seats. After all, Wildrose's fundraising machine has been successful, and the Liberals are debt-free.
At best, Mr. Swann could be the man behind the Opposition Leader. At worst, he could end up a backseat driver for the third-place party, making puppeteering rather dull. And pointless.