Redford is certain to make Alberta proud
Ihave been waiting for my political scientist friends to offer their analysis of the Alberta election. Now, as a sociologist, I am applauding the election of Alison Redford as our premier.
On Dec. 19, 1988, I published a column in praise of Benazir Bhutto, who was elected prime minister of male chauvinist Pakistan. Although she goofed eventually, I celebrated her victory. She made history by getting elected prime minister of a Muslim country after more than 1,400 years of Islamic history. My last sentence was, “Wake up, Canada, male chauvinist Pakistan has elected a female prime minister.”
On Oct. 1, 2011, history was made in Alberta when Alison Redford was elected by her party to be our next premier. Since 1905, Alberta has been electing male premiers. Now, I am able to say, “Way to go, Alberta, we have elected the first female premier of Alberta.”
Redford has conquered the old boys club that has been dominant in Alberta politics for the past 107 years. After all these years, we had the courage to elect an intelligent human rights lawyer to lead us in what many perceive as male-dominated, redneck Alberta.
Redford’s record on human rights in Canada and South Africa is glorious. It was pleasant to see her in the company of Nelson Mandela in his country back when that country was transitioning away from decades of apartheid rule. That reminded me of another Canadian politician named Rob Anders, and the disgraceful lone vote he cast in parliament against our government’s wish to recognize Mandela with honorary Canadian citizenship. Redford is totally in a different league. Our premier is a strong Progressive Conservative. That may largely erase our negative image in some parts of Canada.
She will not be a scary right-wing leader like some of her colleagues in her political party, such as Ted Morton, who was defeated in the election, and those in the Wildrose party.
Alberta has been on the right of centre in politics for too long now. Redford is likely going to follow the politics of Alberta’s pioneer Progressive Conservatives, such as Peter Lougheed and Joe Clark. Her intellectual capacity, her experience in international human rights and her modern approach to the current issues in Alberta are commendable qualities.
Our new leader has to be vigilant, but not too worried about her competition with the extreme right-wingers in her own party and the libertarians in the Wildrose party. Both Redford and Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith are educated and smart. But Smith’s thinking that Redford is left-ofcentre is wishful thinking and fearmongering. Redford’s pedigree is exceptional here in Canada and abroad. Therefore, Smith and her caucus members may not be able to unseat her.
Alberta Liberals are perhaps in the worst position to challenge Redford. Their turncoat leader, Raj Sherman, has been questioning some political factors that put Redford on top. He is perhaps trying to inspire his followers. He should try to inspire Liberals by quoting past leaders such as Lester B. Pearson, Pierre Elliott Trudeau and others, rather than foreign leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi as he did recently.
Redford has declared her two priorities: health and education. She is also interested in finding the root causes of crime in Alberta.
She will not be a scary right-wing leader like some of her colleagues.
I fully support her strong will to find the root causes of crime. In 2009, I conducted research into criminal gangs in Canada. Among other things, I explained that the family structure has a lot to do with young criminals joining criminal gangs. Particularly, I explained three models of family systems: Authoritative, authoritarian and permissive.
Authoritative parents are known to be rational in their interaction with their children. They are also known to be participant parents and their socialization of their children is positive in terms of discipline and goal orientation. Their children are, therefore, not likely to join criminal gangs.
The authoritarian model is generally based on parental dictation. These parents are known to tell their children to “do as I tell you.” These parents are ritualistic and known to care more about the rules than about providing rational and loving advice for their children. Their children grow up resenting authority of any kind. Their resentment to authority figures may lead them to criminal activities in and out of gangs.
Permissive parents are libertarians and they believe in total personal freedom for their children, regardless of their age. They do not believe in telling their children what to do, including goal orientation. This model of parenting is known to produce confused children. Therefore, without external help, some of these young people may develop criminal tendencies.
The team under Redford’s leadership dealing with the root causes of crime may want to pay attention to these models of families.
Redford is a woman of good heart, which is not in direct conflict with the ideology of Progressive Conservatives. I am anticipating that she will be a great leader.