Let’s keep the political campaigning clean
By Lethbridge Herald on May 2, 2023.
OUR OPINION
The writ has been dropped and now all political parties in Alberta are in full campaign mode.
The big two – UCP and NDP – have already been unofficially campaigning for weeks now with announcements of investments by the present government and promises being made by the official Opposition.
Who will win and by what margin nobody will truly know until the votes are counted on May 29.
Early predictions suggest the race could be tight but nobody has a crystal ball so to put bets on a horse right now is premature.
And we’ve seen how predictions can turn out wrong – just look at the major upset by the Florida Panthers of the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League playoffs after their record setting year.
Surprises do happen.
What won’t be surprising, though, is if campaigns get personal. We’ve already seen the mud-slinging by candidates before the writ was dropped. We’ve seen and heard the attacks by their supporters.
But here’s the thing: Belittling opponents is not going to sway voters.
Supporters of a party may giggle with juvenile delight when hearing their preferred candidate hurt insults at an opponent but others will not be so easily impressed or persuaded.
Bullying has no place in schoolyards and it has no place in politics. Election candidates need to campaign solely on the merits of their party’s platforms.
Taking cheap shots and making personal digs against other party candidates shows a profound lack of character and disrespect for the electorate as a whole.
Alberta is a province in turmoil right now, more polarized perhaps than it ever has been. There is no middle ground here.
People are angry and not just at the UCP for their governance in the past four years – many in this province are opposed to NDP policy and don’t want to see Rachel Notley’s team re-elected.
Supporters of both sides are going to be using social media, letters to the editor and commentary elsewhere to state their cases why their preferred party should be elected.
They are, have been, and will be vicious in their verbal assaults.
But the candidates themselves need to avoid that tact. Vitriol only creates enemies, not friends.
Candidates will soon be getting their chances at election forums in communities throughout the province to have their voices.
These forums are going to get heated but candidates need – out of respect for the process – to stay focused on the issues.
Any candidate who wants to be respected needs to wage a fair and clean fight to earn a seat in the Alberta legislature. They need to realize they aren’t preaching to the converted in their campaigning, they’re trying to convert potential voters.
And voters aren’t gullible; they aren’t easily persuaded by promises or door-knocking as our Herald polls have shown. And no candidate can expect personal attacks will earn more support at the polls.
Let’s keep the campaigning clean. Albertans deserve that respect.
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And on a totally friendly, factual note, Danielle Smith’s little sidekick phone friend, Artur Pawlowski, has been found guilty of mischief and breaching a release order. No wonder it was announced that Smith isn’t taking questions today….embarrassing for the UCP, and of their own doing.
Nice try. CTV stated there was no media availability to anyone today. You sound like an NDP shill spreading misinformation.
He is.