Whither Chandler

It would seem that Ed Stelmach has decided to check out Craig Chandler before signing his nomination papers. It seems that the premier has some reservations about Mr. Chandler. It's no wonder that Ed does, given Chandler's propensity to "shoot from the hip". This has gotten Chandler lots of press, not much of it good, with remarks about how non-conservatives (or Conservatives) should move out of the province, to comparing gay rights activists to Nazis. To say the least, Chandler is a colourful individual.

The question that's likely going through Stelmach's head right now is can the colourful Chandler keep his mouth shut during an election campaign? It would be bad news for the Tories should Chandler be unable to stick to whatever message comes down the pipe from Edmonton, especially given that Chandler tends to the extremes in his comments. What Chandler and the Tories need to do now is try to convince the people of Calgary-Egmont that Chandler the blustering extreme right winger is now Chandler the moderate. This will be difficult given the permanence of what Chandler has said in the public forum of the main stream media as well as the internet. Despite attempts as revisionism, Chandler has an awful lot of embarrassing skeletons on his front lawn, let alone his closet.

So it is now in the hands of the people of Calgary-Egmont. The test will be when the election is called. Will Chandler manage to convince most Tory voters in the riding that he is indeed a changed man, and not the vanguard of the PGIB's One riding at a time "movement", as he claimed to be a mere five months ago.