The Calgary Stampede is underway. This is an event that, nearly three weeks ago, many thought wouldn’t take place in the aftermath of Alberta’s worst natural disaster in history. Parts of downtown Calgary were under water and the Stampede grounds looked like a war zone. But thanks to the tireless efforts of organizers and volunteers, the Greatest Show on Earth is a go.
Of course, this year’s Stampede is taking on a more solemn tone. It’s a symbol of Albertans’ resilience, but there is much work to be done and much hardship to endure before thousands of peoples’ lives return to normal.
The Calgary Stampede is truly a major event, and with major events come major crowds. And when there are major crowds, you can be sure that politicians, like moths drawn to light, will be floating around the scene.
The politicians, up until last weekend, have been respectful and had actually banded together to support those Albertans devastated by the flood. But apparently there’s an unwritten rule somewhere that two weeks is enough time after a major disaster to dispense with empathetic niceties and get back to the bloodsport of political sniping.
It started with our very own prime minister on Saturday night. Stephen Harper used his annual Stampede barbecue to take a few pot shots at his political opponents.
“I’ve talked about the NDP talking about their policies in Washington in secret. The NDP doesn’t want to talk about their alternatives because their policies are so far outside the mainstream they don’t want people to know about them,” he told the crowd.
“In the case of the Liberals … they don’t want to talk about their alternatives because they don’t have any. What I’m telling you friends that with the Liberals and the NDP what you see is what you get. Dangerous ideas on the one hand, vacuous thinking on the other and all of it would reverse the progress we have made.”
Not to be outdone, federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, unannounced, sashayed his way over to the annual Stampede breakfast hosted by Premier Alison Redford on Sunday.
“There’s a lot of Progressive Conservatives who don’t feel at home in the approach that Stephen Harper’s right-wing, extreme right-wing, Conservatives are taking and I’m glad to be working with everyone, meeting with anyone and talking about the challenges we’re facing in the future,” he told reporters when asked about coming to the breakfast.
Of course, the politicians performed their perfunctory relief duties to help flood victims (a.k.a. photo op), but watching their obligatory efforts left viewers longing for a shower.
Albertans remain steadfast in their efforts to recover from the devastation. Some estimates say full recovery could take the better part of a decade. By then, odds are that Harper and Trudeau will be a memory. The cast of characters might change, but a politician’s slavish addiction to a crowd, regardless of the circumstances, will always remain.
