Richard Douglas Brinkman
Not for SaleArt is Freedom
Faith, Democracy, and Nature
Pop pop Dazzled by Everyday
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Good leadership in politics isn’t about mastering the game with media colleagues or staying one step ahead of being exposed. When politics turns into a performance built on avoiding accountability, it’s only a matter of time before the act collapses.
It is, admittedly, one of the great Alberta political ironies of the moment: Naheed Nenshi, having inherited the NDP’s historic Old Strathcona stronghold — a riding so orange it practically glows in the dark — is now preparing to abandon it for a Calgary seat in the next provincial election. A symbolic migration, really: the party’s new leader returning to his old municipal stomping grounds, leaving Edmonton’s safest NDP district to fend for itself while he re‑roots himself in the city that made him famous. And yet, for all the talk of renewal, modernity, and progressive momentum, Nenshi presides over a predominantly female Loyal Opposition caucus — a striking visual in the Legislature, though the party machinery around them still feels unmistakably like a man’s world. The optics say one thing; the habits say another.
Typically, on most days in the Alberta 31st Legislature, the press gallery seats sit empty during question period. The Premier shows up on time and stays for the full shift, listening to questions from members. Meanwhile, the Loyal Opposition Leader arrives late, punches out early, and leaves the chamber to its echoing acoustics. But the moment the cameras appear, the gravitational field changes. Often, after question period for the leaders, I take the elevator from the fourth floor down to the basement, next to the cafeteria — as I’ve done countless times before — and find the room suddenly packed with reporters, lights, cameras, and Mr. Nenshi drawing full attention from the legacy media. The Legislature chamber may be half‑empty, but the basement scrum is standing‑room only. It’s a choreography Alberta politics knows well: the performance happening not where laws are debated, but where microphones and loyal photo ops create another cluster F... Grande Staged Democracy.
2025, Disorder, painted on the reverse side of Point of Order. Life’s too short for small labels. LISTEN label fashion wear is my personal XLife Hats, Hoodies and Winter Toques of Alberta. Worn inside the galleries: Sports Jersey Covers-Up my #T-Shirts..
