Ralph vs. Rachel: A tale of two Alberta premiers

Thomas & Black, 2018. Paperback. Very Good. Signed by Author. Thomas & Black [Published Date: 2018]. Soft cover, 177 pp. Signed by Mark Milke on title page (no inscription). In very good condition with light bumping to edges and corners of covers and light overall scuffing. Binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. NOT Ex-Library. NO remainder marks. [From back cover] Albertans elected two starkly unique premiers in the past 25 years. The first was Ralph Klein, a high-school dropout who, as premier, cut government spending, and taxes, and saw his popularity soar. Klein was a hard-drinking, reforming politician far more comfortable with blue-collar Albertans than bluebloods. He never lost an election and was known simply as "Ralph." Another premier, Rachel Notley, defied expectations and in 2015 broke up the 44-year Conservative government dynasty. Notley, presiding over Alberta's first NDP government, soon wrenched the province in a radically new direction: with higher taxes, green-friendly policy, and activist government. The new premier entered office just as oil prices plunged, as did her chance at a balanced budget. In Ralph vs. Rachel, Mark Milke dives into the history of both premiers. He describes how both entered office in similar fiscal crises and what that meant for unemployment lines, careers, and Albertans. In a contrarian take, Milke argues that Notley was delivered a bad hand from the start and that Klein saved health care and education, protected the Heritage Fund, and rescued Canada's unemployed from coast to coast - and few of Klein's successes were due to luck.