After the political earthquake we felt in early February, everything else feels like minor aftershocks. All we had this week was a throne speech and a budget. Yawn.

Tuesday was the throne speech, which typically outlines a government’s priorities and vision. Mind you, outside of his bold promise to change Alberta’s license plate motto, we haven’t seen much vision from Stelmach during his 4 years as Premier. My expectations were so low for this throne speech, I’ll confess I didn’t bother watching or reading it. But by all means, if you’re curious about Ed’s vision for his final few months as Premier, mosey on over to Daveberta for the full scoop.

The budget Ted Morton refused to bring in was released yesterday and it’s clear as day why Morton did all he could to distance himself from it. The budget calls for a $3.4 billion dollar deficit, and the projected “back in black” date has been pushed back a year, to 2013-2014. Of course, it’s highly possible that may be nothing more than wishful thinking. I will give the PCs credit for mostly holding the line on spending, but that left the budget devoid of the big ticket eye candy you’d expect with an election on the horizon.

With the next election a year away, you’d expect a throne speech and budget to be highly charged political documents, placed under the microscope by the opposition, public, and media. Instead, with the PCs and Liberals kicking off leadership contests, it’s hard for anyone to get too worked up over what would otherwise have been a crucial week.