It has been a week since the infamous Paul Jackson column entitled "Changing Tides" ran in last Sunday's Calgary Sun. For those of you that haven't read the column, all you really need to know is that in the column, Jackson called for Paul Hinman to "step aside" for Preston Manning. (I blogged about that column here.) After I read the Jackson column, I fully expected that the Alliance would respond with a strenuous rebuttal, given that Paul Hinman was elected leader less than 5 months ago. I anticipated a co-ordinated response involving letters to the Calgary Sun Editor from the executive of the party, as well as from party members. I expected those letters to state that the party had full confidence in the leadership of Paul Hinman, and that Paul Jackson was out to lunch for suggesting there was any need to replace him.
Given that I expected the party to rally around the leader, I must admit that I am somewhat flummoxed at what actually occurred. I have just gone through the six editions of the Calgary Sun that have been published since the "Changing Tides" column ran. Not a single letter supporting Paul Hinman was to be found. In fact, the only letter on the Jackson column that I could find was published today, in the April 15 edition. That letter was written by a fellow named Jeff Willerton, and it was supportive of Paul Jackson's views:
Paul Jackson is right. ("Changing tides," April 9.) The smart money is on Preston Manning to be our next premier, regardless of whether he leads the Tories or the Alliance. It's up to him whether he wants to lend his legitimately conservative credentials to an extraordinarily liberal Tory party (as did Stockwell Day for 10 years) or wants to finish it off by breathing life into a new organization. Either way, Preston will soon be our premier, should he choose to accept the mission. If he cares about this province, he needs to do everything in his power to keep it out of liberal hands. He's in the unique position of being the one man in Alberta who can do that.I then checked the Alberta Alliance blogs. There was no mention of the Jackson column on any of them. Interestingly, on Exposed Agenda, I found this post in which Alberta Alliance member Aizlynne expressed a yearning to have PC leadership candidate Ted Morton join up with the Alberta Alliance if and when he loses the leadership contest:Jeff Willerton
Ted Morton has more than just a vision for Alberta, he also has a policy and plan called the Alberta Agenda. Of course, Ted is a real policy wonk so we can expect to get exceptional policy reform from Ted. Only problem? Ted won't win - especially if you add Preston Manning into the mix. I hope his exit strategy includes considering coming over to the Alberta Alliance where he belongs! After all, the Alberta Alliance is the only party utilizing his Alberta Agenda as part of it's policy platform.
Is Aizlynne suggesting that Ted Morton would join the AAP under the leadership of Paul Hinman? I can't see Morton giving up a cabinet spot in the next government in order to sit behind Hinman in the nosebleed seats. This is clearly an expression of support for the idea that new leadership is required in the Alberta Alliance - in the form of Ted Morton.
Based on the foregoing, I am convinced that there is a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction with Paul Hinman's leadership amongst the Alberta Alliance membership. He has literally been hung out to dry, and his supporters have abandoned him.
The only questions that remain are how deep this dissatisfaction is, and when will this dissatisfaction begin manifesting itself in an overt campaign to remove Hinman from the leadership.
As Ralph Klein recently stated: politics is a blood sport. Unfortunately for Paul Hinman, all of the signs suggest he is going to be getting some firsthand experience at just how bloody it is.
