If you should run into Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, ask him this: “So how about those French lessons, eh?”
I’ve asked him that same question myself several times over the years, usually at the tail end of a one-on-one interview.
I’m not the only one, of course. He was asked that again on election night, after Prime Minister Stephen Harper was shown the door by voters.
With Stephen Harper about as well liked as Richard Nixon, it was time for him to go. The day after the election I lost track of how many news stories suggested our premier, Brad Wall, was very high on the list of possible successors. About the only other person who got as much consideration is long-time MP and cabinet minister Jason Kenney, most recently minister of National Defence.
It’s a tough consideration for Wall. With a spring election looming, he’s got to be wondering how much longer he can or should remain as premier. He’s told many, including me, he’s got “the best job in the world” right now. But surely he must realize a premier or prime minister’s best-before date is reached at 10 years. We saw that with Jean Chretien. It was truly re-affirmed with Stephen Harper, and Brian Mulroney wasn’t that far off, either.
Could he go on longer in Saskatchewan? At the end of his second term in office, Wall’s approval ratings were higher than most politicians couldn’t even dream of having during their “honeymoon period” after initially taking office. The NDP have yet to mount a strong challenge. Their leader, Cam Broten, is going to have to pull one heck of a rabbit-out-of-his-hat to unseat Wall from the premier’s chair in the legislature.
One thing many people may not realize is that Wall has been reluctant to give up home and family. Instead of moving to Regina, he has chosen to be driven, for years, to and from Swift Current each day. That is a hell of a commute. He gets a lot of work done in the passenger or rear seat, and I’ve interviewed him by phone a few times on the road. He can’t do that as a Member of Parliament, and he certainly can’t do that as Prime Minister. Home would have to be Ottawa.
It’s a good bet that David Anderson, who took Cypress Hills-Grasslands in a landside, would give up his seat for Wall to run in a byelection. But as an ardent Senate reformer, Wall couldn’t offer him a plumb seat in the Red Chamber.
As one of Canada’s longest serving premiers at this time, Wall has recognition across the country. But I wonder how deep that recognition is? Remember, Saskatchewan is only about three per cent of Canada’s population. So while we know him, the other 97 per cent only know about him.
As I type this, CJME posted a story saying Wall is not interested in the federal leadership. John Gormley asked him if he completely ruled out running federally. The answer Wall gave was, “Yes.”
Well of course Wall said, “Yes.” He’s geared up for a provincial election now. Saying anything less would be political suicide.
That will continue to be his answer, until it’s not.
Maybe he’ll wait until after the “next” guy. Maybe the Conservatives will need to spend some time wandering the wilderness first, like the Liberals did after Paul Martin. We could see two terms before the electorate decides to ditch Trudeau, Mark II.
That might provide plenty of time for Wall to pick up that French.
