Review
KING RALPH: THE POLITICAL LIFE AND SUCCESS OF RALPH KLEIN
by Don Martin
Key Porter Books
Ralph Klein really is a most perfect politician – a fact neither his supporters nor his detractors might readily admit.
His political life story is built, in part, on opposing mythologies. On the one hand he's an ordinary guy – personable, flawed but honest. He's the same anti-establishment, anti-creeps and bums guy he was when he first entered politics as mayor of Calgary. On the other side of public sentiment he's a political opportunist draped in a Joe Everyman sheepskin, an arrogant puppet of big business.
And it seems every other Albertan, fan or not, has a colourful story about, for example, a neighbour waking one morning to find the premier passed out on the lawn. Said tale will illustrate either what a boob or what a regular dude the premier must then be.
In King Ralph: The Political Life and Success of Ralph Klein, Southam national affairs columnist Don Martin does a good job (mostly) of taking us behind the Klein mythology for a look at the actual events that created it. One might be skeptical that a biography given the nod by Klein and written by an admitted friend of the premier could be an unbiased work – and Martin covers his ass right off the bat by admitting that without Klein's consent there would be no book.
Taking a tip from the premier's own MO, his up-front disclosure is disarming. With all the insiders co-operating, Martin was free to compile a solid collection of juicy and just plain funny stories and anecdotes. All the drinking and carousing is here in detail. The naked, first-time mayoral candidate with rum and coke in hand, swaying at the back of a motor home piloted by executive assistant Rod Love, is as unforgettable as it is unsavoury. Not that any of these revelations are especially hard-hitting. They are, after all, the building blocks for a career-long voter love-in.
In Klein, we are presented with a man of duty, not of ideology. The solid gold political machine crafted by Klein and right-hand man Love, and known simply as Ralph, is described in great detail. Like the best magic, it's impossible to fully explain.
The Klein ascension starts as a goof-up, but even during the run-up to his first term as mayor, a progressively more savvy and aggressive political entity takes shape behind a genuinely friendly face. The popular, former reporter with a taste for booze and blue-collar trappings struck a chord.
"Klein fancied himself the public's ombudsman," writes Martin. He details the evolution of a "listen first, act later" policy. Klein would listen, wait and do what he had to do. Klein becomes a dancer – contradictory, vindictive and flexible to the music of public opinion and political mood. He could be convincing and profound or freaky and unprofessional. It simply didn't matter in the end – he could do no wrong as long as he appeared candid.
As Alberta's premier, his Public Affairs Bureau, ominously nicknamed the "Ministry of Truth," would become the ultimate expression of the success of the magical, all-powerful Ralph entity. It took more than a smiling face and the promise to listen to sell the Klein Revolution.
"Lumped together," Martin writes, "they were a veritable MASH unit of spin doctors, ready to sell the bloodiest cuts as the miracle cure for an ailing Alberta." This doesn't jibe with Martin's insistence – even becoming one of the most powerful politicians in the country, one with almost no elected opposition to contend with – that Klein can still be labelled an ordinary guy.
Martin states that Klein's anti-establishment act had to be shelved early on. One of his first initiatives as mayor was to court the oil patch establishment – but in that special Ralph way. Quotes Martin: "I would like to thank the people here who voted for me in the recent civic election," the blue-jeans mayor, who some called Calvin, told a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in 1981, "I understand they're all working in the kitchen."
However, Alberta's oil establishment is barely mentioned. If there's one thing that defines the sociopolitical landscape in a measure as great as Ralph does, it's oil and gas. The dark side of public mythology, after all, contends that the petroleum industry, not the province's elected government or premier, ultimately runs the show.
Martin vividly paints the mechanism of Klein's political success, pointing out that the book is no how-to manual. Klein was lucky and he was the right guy at the right time and place. This, in combination with aggressive political cunning, made the man unstoppable.
Martin doesn't tear hard at the soft side of the myth. He's critical of Klein's overuse of simplistic assumptions and states bluntly that he "bought the last election," but these aren't revelations. King Ralph is good read simply for the stories Martin commits to the historical record – and with that we'll have to be content. |
