By Alex McCuaig

'He is not leading'

Premier in a no-win situation with pandemic says local political scientist

Nov 20, 2020 | 4:37 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – With growing calls for more strident public health restrictions washing up against the hard rocks of trying to keep the provincial economy running, a city political scientist says it’s time for the premier to make some tough calls.

Jim Groom, Medicine Hat College’s political science instructor, says Jason Kenney is facing a choice between upsetting his base by closing local businesses as part of a shutdown, or bringing Alberta in line with other provinces’ more strict public health restrictions.

Groom says recent opinion polls showing low approval of how Kenney is dealing with the pandemic crisis indicate he might not be satisfying those on either side.

“He is not leading. He is responding to the demands of either the health-care services or of his base,” said Groom. “He is in a tough spot but he doesn’t seem to want to take the bull by the horns and say ‘I’ve got to do a risk management thing here.’”

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But Groom says with an election two years away, that is a long time in politics and more than enough time for Kenney to recover from decisions made during the pandemic.