With a fresh four-year mandate and a huge majority in the Legislative Assembly, the Sask. Party government in Saskatchewan could have run roughshod over the opposition and established a whole new agenda if they had wanted to during the Monday afternoon throne speech. But they decided to move forward with what got them there in the first place, choosing the pragmatic approach to governance.
This appears to be a government that has caught on to the concept of being profit and business motivated but doing so with a functioning heart. They have managed to insert a dab of socialism ... just enough to make it work for them, without having to carry the full mantle. In other words, just enough to make the populace feel comfortable even if they are far right capitalists or major left leaning socialists.
This is a government that could easily turn stubborn and arrogant, but we're betting they won't, at least not for the first two years into the new mandate. Premier Brad Wall is smart enough not to allow his troops to falter on that file.
But as Europe continues to plod toward economic ruination followed by our biggest buyer, the United States, Saskatchewan and its people will find out that we are not immune to the new world order that will follow. Things could get very interesting around here by 2013 and 2014. We predict that this will be the time in which Wall and his team will have to deploy their best and brightest ideas and leadership qualities. We'll see how sure footed they can be in handling Saskatchewan's economic, education, infrastructure, health and social needs in more challenging times that are most definitely brewing in far horizons and which will impact us directly.
By this time the Sask. Party will have complete ownership of all the files. This won't be a cleaning up of any former NDP mess. The history of governance and the decisions that were made will be theirs and theirs alone. They will tread in their own footprints, and Wall has proven clever enough to ensure that these historical footprints are large enough and deep enough to provide a solid base. The trick will be in following the plan and not veering off course.
With the throne speech announcements of a new first time homebuyers tax credit and stiffening up the rules regarding rent increases, providing more support for low-income seniors, adding more child-care spaces and hiring more police officers, the Brad Wall government is acknowledging that they are not naive. They realize fully well that not all Saskatchewan residents are well-intentioned activists. Some need to be pushed and prodded a bit before they do what is right. It seems as if this is a government that is ready to govern with a touch of tough love and that can be a good thing when it is applied with the aforementioned humbleness and heart.
The next two years should be interesting enough for this provincial government and its charges, but we expect the final two years of the current mandate will be even more so.
We'll be ready with the scorecards.
