By Don Braid, Calgary Herald
Published: September 11, 2009

Let’s hope Premier Ed Stelmach had a good game at his charity golf tournament Thursday, because the rest of the day was a triple bogey.

Everybody seemed to tee off on Ed, including Phil Klein, Ralph’s dad, who has torn up his Tory card and bought a membership in the Wildrose Alliance. Still sharp at 91, Phil showed his wrestling background by landing on Stelmach from the corner ropes.

“I was fed up with the shenanigans in this party,” he said from his home in Edmonton, “and I’m very worried about health care.

“I’ve got nothing against Eddie. He’s a nice guy, but I kind of think he’s a weak leader. He’s giving his ministers too much rope and they might hang him.”

I asked if he’s just mad because the Tories voted his son out of office. “Nah, that was not a problem,” he says. “It was time Ralph was gone anyway. He was there too long. . . . My problem is with health care mostly, and the way they’re spending money like it’s going out of style. Alberta used to get by when oil was $16 a barrel. Now it’s $72 a barrel and we’re in the hole all the time.

“So I kind of like this Wildrose lady (Danielle Smith). She’s smart and well-educated and maybe it’s time for a female premier.”

Did he ask Ralph before going overboard?

“No, I haven’t told Ralph.

“When he was in politics I had no choice–you have to support family. Now I’ve jumped to the Alliance. New brooms sweep clean.”

Phil Klein was by far the most colourful of Stelmach’s problems Thursday, but hardly the worst.

Diane Colley-Urquhart, the Tory candidate in next Monday’s Calgary-Glenmore byelection, came out firmly against the provincial drive for new electricity transmission lines.

Echoing city-owned Enmax and many on Calgary council, she said she doesn’t see a need for the lines, and the province shouldn’t be raising fears about blackouts.

Much the same thing was going on at city hall, as several alderman questioned the project; even Jim Stevenson, a loyal Conservative.

The province, meanwhile, sees all this opposition as political mischief hatched in Mayor Dave Bronconnier’s office on the eve of the byelection.

The Stelmachians will be madder still at chamber of commerce CEO Heather Douglas, who chose this moment to scorch provincial royalty policy and economic leadership. She said the government has made Alberta’s oilpatch No. 8 for competitiveness in Canada.

Finally, influential Tory Hal Walker put out an e-mail scorching the government. More remarkably, he revealed a long list of recipients that included reporters, industry leaders, the premier himself, and a number of former Jim Dinning backers, notably Rod Love and Allan Hallman.

Walker used to be president of Klein’s Calgary-Elbow riding association and was chairman of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Less public now, he was once a mighty force in the party.

“I think Heather Douglas has captured the essence of the devastating effect of Premier Stelmach’s royalty policy,” Walker wrote. “I don’t know what Albertans need to do to get his cabinet and caucus to listen???”

Stelmach’s people will see all this as the boiling surface of a movement to challenge Stelmach at the party’s mandatory leadership review in early November.