Klein hints at May 2005 election

Canadian Press

(Banff, Alta.)  Alberta is likely to go to the polls next spring in advance
of a planned May visit by the Queen, Premier Ralph Klein said Friday. Klein
said it is "most likely" he would seek a fourth mandate in the
spring as opposed to the fall.

Buckingham Palace requires there be a reasonable interval between an
election and a royal visit."I am leaning more towards the spring now
that I know when she is going to visit," he said. "If we have the
election in March, May is a reasonable amount of time."

The last two elections have been held in the second week of March. Klein
earlier told a standing-room-only crowd of 1,200 Tories attending the
party's annual meeting to expect an election next year. "I want them
to get ready for 2005," he explained. "That's a normal
time."

Klein said this will be the last party convention before the election.


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