There's some spine showing. (Back Page).

Six months can be a lifetime in politics.

It was only a couple months ago in this space that I was poking the Premier for bowing to union interests in deciding to extend shopping hours at the province's liquor stores. Well, if that was fair criticism, then he deserves an equal amount of praise for his actions on the resource royalty front.

Lorne Calvert has projected an interesting image since assuming the top job nearly two years ago.

On one hand he makes no apologies for being a social democrat but in the same breath he notes that he also has an economics degree and understands that without economic success, you'll have no social justice.

The Premier and I (Elwin Hermanson and David Karwacki were there too) shared a podium not so long ago where we offered a group of Alberta business leaders our perspectives on the province's economic outlook. When the Premier made his 'I-know-the-economy-has-to-come-first' comment, the Albertans noticed. But one, interestingly, added that Calvert seemed to be 'holding his nose' while advancing the argument and this economy-first thing would fall by the boards if the government's treasury were filled.

Well, Calvert went a long ways to debunking that Albertan's impression with his announcement on oil and gas royalties.

Within hours of its announcement, players in the Alberta oil patch were praising Calvert and his decision. They welcomed the news and said they'd be on their way to invest in Saskatchewan.

All of that is good, very good. But the process to get to this point is worthy of some examination as well.

First of all, that Calvert opted for the 'Alberta-style' royalty regime is something of a criticism of his own and his predecessor's approach to the potential of our petroleum sector. Ironically, it's just as Kyoto hits the front burner that we decide it's time to pump up the oil sector, but in reality the decision was driven by simple economics. The government needs money, it needs outside investment and it needs new jobs. The guys who have all of that didn't like our rules and if we want them to play, we had to change the rules.

So Calvert has done it.

Obviously, this tacit criticism of the NDP's former approach to oil development isn't going to sit well with the rank and file in the party. And that's what makes the Premier's decision so interesting.

It tells us something about the man in the Premier's chair and it's not consistent with the image of the man we've come to believe. Calvert has been perceived as a 'nice' guy but not exactly tough. Perhaps it's time to rethink that perception.

Calvert made it pretty clear that he wanted changes to the oil and gas royalty regime a long time ago. He talked with the oil people early in his tenure and got the message loud and clear. So he came home and said he wanted a more industry friendly package. But it didn't come and it didn't come. It turns out he couldn't get the bureaucrats to move on it.

So what did he do? He abolished the Department of Energy and Mines, rolled it into Economic Development and within weeks had a new policy drafted and pushed through Cabinet.

What is emerging here is a picture of a guy who, while nice, has the backbone to make some tough calls. Apparently he knows what he wants and increasingly he's showing he will do what it takes to get it. In contrast to his predecessor, the procrastinator who made decisions when they reached a crisis point, Calvert appears willing to make things happen.

Shortly after becoming Premier Calvert stared down a senior cabinet member who made some big demands and the minister was out of Cabinet. Now he's abolished a department when it wouldn't respond.

This is quite a contrast to political upheavals like the rural amalgamation furor where Romanow pushed the issue to the wall and then blinked at the last minute, deciding not to force the issue he put on the table in the first place.

In an era when we in the media have created an environment that encourages the public execution of political figures, the safest avenue for a politician is to avoid decision-making and skate clear of controversy.

Calvert does not project the persona of a tough taskmaster but these actions suggest there may be more to the guy than meets the eye.

Paul Martin is heard daily on 980 CJME and 650 CKOM as well as on the radio stations of the Golden West Broadcasting network in Saskatchewan.