What is it With Conservatives and Delegation?

Jeepers! What is it with today's Con$ervatives and their utter inability to actually delegate anything.

On the Federal level, we have the micromanaging PMSH who is gradually losing control over portfolio after portfolio as things spiral out of control - whether or not he's looking at it.

Provincially, we have the Stelmach government consolidating its grip on all things health related.

Consolidating everything in Edmonton, under an organization that is responsible to the political minister who also has responsibility for the department responsible for oversight and policy is not a good sign. It points to a centralization of authority in our provincial government that is worrisome.

Under Klein, the Conservatives consolidated control over both civic and education related funding - and made a complete hash of it, and it appears that under Stelmach, they are preparing to do what Klein always backed away from with health care.

While the Con$ often speak the language of "smaller government" etc. etc., when it comes down to it, the current varietal in both Edmonton and Ottawa in fact seems to be more about control than anything else. Liepert's vague comments about "unifying" the health system, and making it "seamless" is beginning to worry me a great deal. Such broad, vague terms, and the moves he is making suggest that he is planning to take things down a path that he isn't willing to be open with Albertans about.

Worse, the Alberta voters handed Ed Stelmach a 'bigger-than-ralph' sized majority, and the man hasn't even led the government for a full term. This means that the Alberta Con$ are apt as not to do whatever they want, and they'll do it sooner rather than later on the basis that they'll be hoping that the voters have forgotten what atrocities they commit by the time the next election is due. (Sadly, I suspect that they are right on that last point - Alberta voters don't seem to have any kind of memory, much less long term memory)