Clearly Brian Jean is not above some light sabotage of the ‘United’ Conservatives. Earlier this week he took to the pages of the Edmonton Journal with a column announcing that ‘Re…
A million years ago, Alberta used to have a Progressive Conservative Party. The old joke about that much-depleted political brand was that “progressive” and “conservative” were opposites; that the phrase literally meant “Forward Backward Party.” Ironically, in the world of 2019, one in which everybody and his dog is “socially liberal and fiscally conservative,” the idea of a Progressive Conservative party might make more sense than ever. But let’s face it.
The Jason Kenney-led unification of the dead PCs and the crippled Wildrose Party turns out to have left more resentment in its wake than might have been expected. In 2017, after quitting his seat in Parliament, Kenney ran for the leadership of the PCs on a unity platform and won. Wildrose leader Brian Jean was amenable to a merger and a showdown. Both parties held internal referendums on whether to unify. Unification won on both sides, with vote shares normally only seen in People’s Republics.
Kenney was the favourite to win the unity contest all along, and there was ostensibly not much to distinguish the two men ideologically. But now some are crying foul about that UCP showdown, which Kenney won just as handily as Richard Nixon won the 1972 U.S. presidential election. A third candidate named Jeff Callaway, a former Wildrose president, had been in the race initially before endorsing Kenney and dropping out.
Kenney has denied any involvement with kamikaze tactics, and proof that he knew of them is likely to remain elusive, whether he is innocent or guilty. Still, some UCP figures who were involved with the unity drive are now convinced that the contest may not have been fought by strict Marquess of Queensbury rules.
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