One might not think there are many similarities between Saskatchewan’s last two premiers.
Politically speaking, the views of the NDP’s Lorne Calvert and the Saskatchewan Party’s Brad Wall couldn’t be much more different.
However, there are a couple similarities: Both have well-earned reputation as pretty nice guys and both had a fond affection for tinkering with engines.
Wall’s preference was for the restoration of classic muscle cars and Calvert’s passion was for restoring old buses. (To each his own, one supposes.)
That fond affection for adding life to old vehicles is a talent both seemed to transpose into political life.
For Calvert, the knack for fixing cranky old engines perhaps served him well when he was able to add another six years to the life of the then almost ten-year-old NDP government after being elected Premier and NDP leader in January 2001.
It’s a great skill to have and should be quickly be adopted by whoever takes over his office after this Saturday’s vote.
In political terms, Calvert may have seemed more of the tinkering type.
Calvert inherited a government that was not only in a coalition situation but also one that was just emerging out of Channel Lake natural gas land acquisition scandal into an even bigger scandal we now know as Spudco.
Massaging the political egos of not only his own NDP caucus members but also the two Liberals he needed in keep this coalition together was no easy feat.
Nor was it especially easy to work his way through some tough budgets in the early years of his mandate.
Calvert did manage to hold that coalition until he managed to win a clear NDP majority government in 2003. He was then awarded with a turnaround in the economy in 2004.
One of the ways he was able to do this was finding a way to work through the scandals. His decision to assign career civil servant and his then-deputy minister Dan Perrins to do an objective report on Spudco (the report that led to the demotion of then-economy minister Eldon Lautermilch) was clearly a wise move.
By contrast, Wall was labeled as a master pitchman who saws as pre-occupied with the bigger picture and the aesthetics of running a government.
But while some of Wall’s best political moments were instinctive ones, it was his attention-to-detail that likely developed those instincts.
His 2010 decision to stand in defense of the attempted takeover of Potash Corp. by Australian/South African conglomerate BHP Billiton was truly a Saskatchewan moment.
Similarly, his appeal to Saskatchewan people on Facebook to stop racist remarks after Red Pheasant resident Colten Boushie was killed in farmyard of Gerald Stanley, now charged with murder, speaks volumes to Wall’s instincts to do the right thing.
Wall is not immediately thought of as a detail-minded person, but his mastery of government issues was often underrated.
Among the most successful government initiatives during his years were those in which he and his government set goals (i.e. targets to reduce surgical wait times).
Perhaps this is why the out-going Saskatchewan Premier developed his masterful control of caucus and cabinet that — at least until the eruption of the Global Transportation Hub land acquisition issue — generally kept scandal at a distance.
However, the challenges Wall successor faces may actually be most similar to those of Wall’s predecessor.
Like Lorne Calvert, the new premier will inherit a 10-year-old government.
Older governments tend to weaken with age, due to the loss of experienced members and due to the history that is accumulated.
The Premier’s job is ceaseless tinkering — dealing with a never-ending array of problems and issues. Saskatchewan’s new premier should take a lesson from both predecessors on the art of tinkering.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
