Just a few short weeks ago, we considered writing an editorial on how the Wildrose had wilted following its disastrous showing in four provincial byelections and the resignation of one of its most charismatic, if slightly roguish, MLAs in Joe Anglin. He is now an independent.
For a party that many media pundits across the country once dubbed as the natural successors to the stumbling Progressive Conservatives, the past weeks could not have been worse. The bloom the Wildrose once enjoyed has not only withered, it has been buried under a thunder snow of its own making. To paraphrase W.C. Fields, its leader Danielle Smith might well be thinking she would be better off in Buffalo.
Alberta’s new Premier Jim Prentice appears to be cool, calm and competent. In his short tenure, he has already fixed many of the perceptions that sank former premier Alison Redford’s reign as the princess premier, as fast as he could sell off the province’s fleet of government planes. And this week when he killed a controversial land rights bill that was one of the biggest grievances rural voters had with the folks at the legislature, he effectively eliminated the sorest point many Wildrose supporters had with the Tories.
Still, in a show of solidarity following the byelections in which the Wildrose placed third in one important Calgary riding, the party solidly endorsed Smith’s leadership. But what a hollow show of solidarity that turned out to be, when the annual convention soundly defeated a policy signalling and supporting the inclusion of minority groups within its ranks. Like it or not, this collective decision, seemingly based on the semantics of the proposal, has had the same effect as the anti-gay “lake of fire” comments voiced by a candidate in the early days of the party. People don’t forget and a second time around, it is unlikely they will forgive.
That is reinforced by the very public resignation this week of Terry Lo, an executive member of a Wildrose riding association in Calgary. Lo, who describes himself in a blog as the surrogate dad to a gay son, Asian and atheist, stating that “any party that visibly does not protect my son, is one that has lost my support, and in fact, earned my opposition.” If his moral fortitude does not touch at the heart of any caring parent who puts family ahead of politics, you would have to wonder what does.
In a valiant attempt to continue forward, Smith says she is disappointed with Lo’s decision as she continues to hammer the government on travel expenses and large severance packages for former employees. Unfortunately for her, these are becoming the same tired tactics the Wildrose has employed since its beginnings. With the Tories now focusing on a future of falling oil prices, at least they are looking ahead. The Wildrose, it seems, remains focused on the past. And that is too bad for all Albertans, because we really do need an effective and credible opposition to keep the ruling party in check.
