A little late, and might be old news for some folks, but I can't believe that I almost missed this one.
Dwain Lingenfelter, Vice-President of Government Relations for Calgary-based Nexen Inc, is running for the leadership of the Saskatchewan NDP. A Sask NDP MLA from 1978-86 and 1988-2000, Lingenfelter joined Nexen in Calgary after leaving politics in 2000. Interestingly, in the 1990s, under its former name of 'Canadian Occidental Petroleum,' Nexen purchased Saskatchewan's former crown energy company, Wascana Energy (formerly SaskOil), which was created by Allan Blakeney and later privatized by Grant Devine in 1986.
High level daveberta.ca informants deep in Calgary's energy sector have heard that Nexen has given Lingenfelter a year-off to contest the NDP leadership, leaving an opening for him to return if his bid is unsuccessful. Having served in high level corporate positions in the energy sector and in the cabinets of Blakeney and Roy Romanow, Lingenfelter would definitely be an unconventional pick for the Sask NDP leadership.
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Well, heck, if some guy who was out of the country for 25 years can lead the federal Liberals, then surely a champagne socialist who has been out of the flatlands for eight years can lead the Saskatchewan NDP. SaskParty officials are said to be salivating at the prospect...
ReplyDeleteSaskParty officials aren't salivating, that's just the usual drool dropping out of their slack-jawed faces.
ReplyDeleteThat said, Lingefelter is not "the guy" to return the SNDP to government. They'll find someone better. As we've seen of late, the trend in politics at all levels is new faces. Experience in a prior government seems to hurt would-be leaders more than help them. People want a fresh face with fresh ideas. Never mind that experience is vital...
Heehee. If the folks who beat your asses across the west, like the Sask Party, Alberta PCs and BC Liberals are slack-jawed, drooling yokels, what does that say about you? I love the high level of political discourse on this site...keeps me coming back (when I'm not drooling and staring vacantly into space, that is).
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why anybody in the SaskParty would be looking forward to Link as the NDP leader unless they want former disjokey Brad Wall who couldn't sell country music to Saskatchewan gone as leader.
ReplyDeleteLingenfelter is the guy to lead the NDP back into government. He has both the experience and leadership to do it.
The SaskParty has a short lived memory. Getting excited about the 4 to 8 years of government you get after every 16-20 years of NDP governance is nothing to be giddy about.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, Brad Wall will be in jail with his idol Grant Devine soon enough.
Too bad someone with an energy background didn't run for the AB Liberal leadership. That would have been an interesting opponent for the Tories to deal with.
ReplyDeleteOr were the Libs only looking for someone with MLA experience?