Those who occupy the right end of the political spectrum are convinced that a unified right wing party in Alberta can and will form government after the next election. Such conviction, though, should be tempered.
Alberta is not the right-wing haven it was just a few years ago. Alberta’s population has boomed, and with it, an influx of people from other parts of Canada and beyond its borders. The result is a populace that is arguably more centrist than what existed in the days of Ralph Klein.
As Jason Kenney and Brian Jean grapple with unifying their respective Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties, a key question remains: What kind of right-of-centre party will be formed with a merger? Will it be a fiscally conservative but socially moderate party? Or will it be fiscally and socially right of centre, or even fiscally and socially moderate?
The answer begins with the leader of this new, merged party. Neither Kenney nor Jean scored particularly well in a recent poll which suggested an unspecified other would be a more desirable leader. If, however, the leader is Kenney, will the party take a decidedly sharp turn to the right? If so, there is a risk the moderates would desert the new brand. If Jean is the new leader, can he keep the large contingency of Kenney supporters under the new tent? The PC leadership race had a nastiness to it. The potential leadership battle for this new party could get downright bloody.
What is shaping up in St. Albert is equally intriguing. Mayor Nolan Crouse will be finished his term this October. After that it will be full speed ahead for Crouse, who is a tireless worker, organizer and campaigner. The Alberta Liberal party suffers from near-complete disorganization. Crouse has a huge job in rebuilding it, but in St. Albert he has a real chance of becoming the next MLA. Crouse has served 13 years in St. Albert, including three terms as mayor. While he may have his detractors (as does every politician), he’s proven he’s electable, and he’s representing a party with moderate views both socially and fiscally.
There isn’t a political party that has ever enjoyed a safe haven in St. Albert. Jack Flaherty, Len Bracko, Arthur Soetaert and several others before him have represented St. Albert under the Liberal banner. Bryan Strong was our NDP MLA in the mid-1980s, and a smattering of PC, United Farmers and Social Credit candidates were our elected representatives. Anything can happen in St. Albert.
Whoever leads the merged PC-Wildrose party will have the unenviable job of navigating the party through uncertain political waters. Can the new leader present a vision for Albertans that extends beyond simply getting rid of the NDP? The conservatives, first, must redefine what conservatism is and then make it attractive to the majority of Albertans. That could prove to be a tall order.
