AHC/WI Joe Clark goes Provincial

[CanadianTory]

Now Joe Clark ran for the provincial Progressive Conservatives under Peter Lougheed in 1967 (Calgary-South) and 1971 (Can't find the riding), and came close to winning both times. Let's say he wins either time, how will that affect Alberta and how will that affect Federal Politics?

Could Clark become Premier instead of Don Getty? King Ralph?

 

[Deckhand]

Joe Who?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Prime Minister Flora Macdonald? I don't see Mulroney having it in the 76 convention, and absent Clark does the red tory favourite win out?

 

[CanadianTory]

Joe Who?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Prime Minister Flora Macdonald? I don't see Mulroney having it in the 76 convention, and absent Clark does the red tory favourite win out?

It could go to Wagner, than Macdonald following the former's death. There could be more pressure to get a Western candidate in the race.

 

[overoceans]

Could Clark become Premier instead of Don Getty? King Ralph?

I don't see why not. If he could convince Albertans to give his party all their seats in the federal Commons, he should be able to convince them to support his leadership of the provinicial PCs.

A few things though...

If Clark were as "red" provincially as he was federally, he would best ascend to the leadership in 1985, like Getty in OTL, rather than in the early 90s, like Klein. Assuming you think that the early 90s slash-and-burn policies were inevitable(and even Laurence Decore was championing them in OTL), I don't think Clark would have had the tempermant or the inclination to put them into practice.

And again, that's assuming that Clark provincially is a Red Tory. If he was representing a rural riding(as in OTL), without the tempering influence of federal politics, he might just have pandered to the right-wingers in his home turf.

Also...

Assuming Clark runs for the leadership in '85, but everything else is the same, he's up against Ron Ghitter, a Calgarian most recently associated with anti-racism endeavours(and widely despised among the religious conservatives), and Julian Koziak, a centrist from Edmonton, popular among ethnic voters. I wonder how Clark positions himself in that crew.

Finally...

The Maureen factor. Ms. McTeer may be a lightning rod for anti-feminist religious Tories, specifically the old Alberta Report crowd who villified Ron Ghitter. Not sure what would happen if Clark got smeared as Maureen's beeyatch.

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Joe Who?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

heh. Good one.

Seriously, provincially, I doubt a Red Tory like Clark could get far in Alberta Torydom. So, I doubt much difference provincially.

Who ran second when Clark won the leadership?
Hmmm.... Flora MacDonald was expected to run away with the Red Tory vote. So, IF they unite behind her, she'd probably win. If that faction stayed divided, the the otl second place finisher Claude Wagner would likely take it. Third place was Brian Mulroney, iirc, in his first attempt - IF he won as a compromise candidate, the PCs wouldnt have won even a minority government in '79, as people would likely react badly to a man with no political experience trying to buy the election.

So, basicallyy, what the others said, but in more detail.

 

[overoceans]

Seriously, provincially, I doubt a Red Tory like Clark could get far in Alberta Torydom. So, I doubt much difference provincially.

I don't know. In absolute terms, Peter Lougheed was a fairly mainstream Keynesian and social-liberal(he nationalized an airline and defanged the censor board, for example), and in relative terms, compared to the Socreds, he was downright Bolshevik. For all that, factoring in seats won and time in office, he had the most successful career of any of the Tory premiers.

So I wouldn't neccessrily rule out a "red" Clark thriving in Alberta politics, if he rose at the right time. As I mentioned, though, what might push Clark to the right is if he were representing a rural constituency. The provincial Tories have had some real yahoos from their bible-belt ridings.