Prentice making up fiscal policy on the fly based on polls

A move to bring in a freeze on some public service salaries is being greeted with cynicism by Wildrosers who say PC leader Jim Prentice is starting to panic.

Prentice says he's going to freeze the salaries of provincial government managers for three years; a move originally rolled out and then scuttled by former Premier Alison Redford.

Wildrose fiscal hawk Derek Fildebrandt says it's a sign Prentice is making up fiscal policy as he goes in the hopes of salvaging a campaign that appears to be spinning its wheels.

"Jim Prentice runs to the left on Tuesday and to the right on Wednesday, he's going to flip back and forth according to the polls but what he's shown is he has no centre of gravity in terms of what he actually believes. Didhe not believe that we needed to freeze the pay and perks of managers in government just a couple of weeks ago when he introduced a budget, or do does he only believe that now? He's making his decision based on polls not on what he believes, not on what is necessary for Alberta," says Fildebrandt.

There are signs the Tories are having little success selling a budget that includes tax hikes.

Fildebrandt says he wouldn't be surprised if other parts of the current budget are changed during the campaign in a bid to help the PCs which some polls suggest, are running third.

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