Karwacki wins Sask Leaders debate hands down

Well, the news reports are in and the clear winner in last night's Saskatchewan Leader's debate is Liberal leader David Karwacki. There is coverage here, here and here.

Here's a sample:

"So while both the Sask. Party and NDP seemed to be fighting with one hand tied behind their backs, Karwacki came out swinging with both fists. And on several occasions, he connected.
"I bet you guys didn't fight like this when you went behind closed doors and negotiated your gold-plated health plan," Karwacki quipped during one of the few meaningful exchanges between Wall and Calvert on the health plan.
Besides being one of a couple memorable zinger lines that the Liberal leader delivered, it perfectly illustrated how Karwacki threw caution to the wind and got in the middle of almost every exchange."

Murray Mandryk, The Leader-Post, Wednesday, October 31, 2007

"Karwacki, whose party won no seats in the 2003 campaign, used the debate to audition for a role as opposition in the legislature. "Thankfully I'm going to be holding Mr. Wall accountable on this particular issue because I don't believe that you're going to form the next government," Karwacki told Calvert as the leaders talked about combating crime. "

James Wood and Angela Hall, Saskatchewan News Network, Wednesday, October 31, 2007

"Karwacki, whose party didn't elect any MLAs in 2003, attacked both Calvert and Wall after their MLAs adopted what he called a "gold-plated" health-care plan. "We need to have Liberals in the legislature," he said.
The Liberal leader also aimed some sharp jabs at Calvert, turning his back on him at one point after saying, "I don't believe you're going to form the next government."

Later, Karwacki referred to Calvert's promise to put a $15 cap on the price of prescription drugs for another dig at the NDP leader, saying Calvert should get a $15 prescription for "truth serum."

CBC.ca story, Oct. 30, 2007

It looks like Karwacki got just the boost he needed to achieve the balance of power, if not official opposition status after the November 7 election.