CALGARY- A slimmed-down cabinet has resulted in a few surprises, including the appointment of two ministers who aren’t even elected officials.
Premier Jim Prentice was sworn to his new post on Monday, and also announced his cabinet. Only 20 ministers made the cut, down from 30, with nearly half of them coming from Calgary.
One of them is former Calgary school board chairman Gordon Dirks, who does not have a spot in the Alberta government and will have to run in a byelection this fall.
“It’s a bit of an unusual situation where he was chair of the Calgary Board of Education, a former Saskatchewan minister going back to the 1980s,” explains political analyst Duane Bratt. “So obviously there was conversation behind the scenes, and obviously he’s being given the second biggest spending portfolio.”
While Prentice promises the new cabinet will mean much-needed changes, the opposition party isn’t convinced.
“I have to tell you, looking at that it doesn’t look new to me,” says Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith. “It’s not a new generation of leadership and it isnt a brand new face. In fact, I think it’s more of the same and I think people will see that.
“It demonstrates how shallow the talent pool is in this government.”
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