Predictions of a political junkie
March 3, 2008 | 03:00 PM
Cyril Cook
Bring out the popcorn folks because tonight is the night political nerds like me get to sit in front of their televisions and watch the results of the 83 ridings roll in.
The Progressive Conservative campaign steadied on the final days of the campaign and the Liberals lost the early momentum after the costing of some of their campaign items was released. As a result I don’t expect a nail biting finish on who is going to be premier, as Stelmach will likely be declared the winner about an hour into the broadcast.
I honestly don’t think the Liberals are capable of coming up with a platform that the majority of Albertans can support. Maybe they have been in opposition too long and they are just too comfortable with where they are now. If they had softened up their positions on the royalty rates and toned down their environmental green house gas policies, I think a good portion of Albertans might gulp today and vote in a Liberal government for the first time. But it’s not going to happen.
What I do hope for and expect is a strong showing for the Wild Rose Alliance. I think they will win at least a couple seats, which would be a doubling of what they have now. They could even do better if the trajectory in the polls continues as the large undecided come to a decision. The latest polls had them doubling their support from five percent and surpassing the NDP as the third choice of Albertans. They represent a real threat for the Progressive Conservatives that will keep them on their toes in the legislature if they can surprise and score a handful of seats. I think the Wild Rose Alliance is the party to watch closely tonight, not in so much as the seat total but the total percentage of their vote and what areas they come in a close second.
Predictions:
PC 55
LIB 23
WAP 3
NDP 2
