On the weekend I went snow shoeing and out for dinner with a large group of ladies. (Smart, educated, passionate, movers and shakers shall we say.) During dinner we got into an interesting conversation about politics in Alberta. Although we all come from different political backgrounds, the consensus was the same. We rant and rave about voter turnout. We blog and talk about why it is so important to vote and wonder where this apathy comes from when it comes to electing our leaders.
Everyone at our end of the table agreed, that people are apathetic to the "Old Boy's Club" that IS politics. The majority of our leaders fit most or all of this criteria
1. Male
2. Over weight
3. Balding
4. Over 45
What is sexy and glamorous about that?? People want to be inspired. Talk is cheap. We don't want a health minister (or any other minister for that matter) telling us to be healthy or preaching a message that they, themselves personally don't follow. We live in an age of people worshiping people (celebrities) and when we think about our leaders, having the brains to do the job isn't cutting it anymore.
The conversation during dinner then turned to Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith. Nobody could dispute that a young, healthy, female under the age of 45 wasn't the best choice for a party leader. Although most of the ladies didn't agree with policies of the party, their selection in a leader says something. They are more engaged with a younger demographic.
People want leaders they can relate to. They want leaders that are engaging and they want to feel like their opinion matters. Look at Nenshi in Calgary or Melissa Blake in Wood Buffalo.
When Ed announced last week that he was stepping down my first though was to an author and MLA Doug Griffiths. He's a small town guy making ripples with his speech and book "13 Ways to Kill Your Community". I blogged about his book a couple of months ago. Here is a guy, under 40, takes care of himself, uses social media to engage with younger people and clearly has his heart in the right place. He is the kind of guy that you are naturally drawn to and WANT to follow because he inspires people. I may not agree with all that the Conservative Party has to offer, but Doug makes me WANT to follow him. He has that charisma and energy that is rare.
Who knows what the next year or two holds for Alberta and politics. All I know is that unless the "Old Boy's Club" transforms itself ... we will be complaining about the same things 10 years from now and that gets old and boring really fast.
Do me a favour and encourage more women and younger, passionate male leaders to get involved and change our political landscape.
