If you're a conservative these days, you swim with sharks. And the sharks are cannibals. Carson Jerema writes:
Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party has eaten itself.
The dismal 51.4 per cent approval rating that led Premier Jason Kenney to announce Wednesday that he will step down is a victory for a long-percolating revolt, one that came mostly from the party’s right wing. But this is no win for conservative politics in Alberta and could signal the movement’s shift further away from where voters are comfortable.
Kenney’s handling of the COVID pandemic irritated the more conservative elements of his caucus, who had been publicly criticizing him and calling for his resignation for months. While some of the dissent came from corners that believed Kenney wasn’t doing enough to quell the spread of COVID-19, it was driven chiefly by those who thought he was doing too much.
This is a faction that demands nothing less than ideological purity, with any deviation dismissed as unforgivable, even traitorous, socialism.
A Stephen Harper acolyte, Kenney ran the most conservative government in the country. But, for some Albertans, it wasn't conservative enough:
In the fall, a group of angry MLAs were expected to bring a vote of non-confidence, but they lost their nerve when it was clear they didn’t have the votes. But after a group of riding associations requested it, a planned fall leadership review was moved to the spring.
Somewhat controversially, the party executive altered the rules to make it a mail in ballot, which prompted howls the change was made for Kenney’s benefit. Whether that was true or not, it clearly didn’t matter. The unhappiness the party membership had with the premier was evident.
With Kenney gone, there is no guarantee a more ideological conservative leader will take over. A more moderate leader could force a split, while someone too far to the right may be unappealing to the average voter.
For the federal Conservatives, the fall of Kenney may serve as a cautionary tale. We'll see how that works out.
Image: newscientist.com
6 comments:
Conservatives, like their US Repug cousins south of the border, unleashed the monster of the fringe who are now the gatekeepers (to borrow a well worn trope fromPP) of the movement. They cannot survive without this voting block which ironically, turns off the faction of voters they'll need to win an election. Alberta is a mirrored reflection of MAGA, where any amount of response to Covid would be seen as a failure, and fail Kenney did, on every level, but still wasn't bad enough. To see the vultures circling for the one time darling of the party makes for great theatre for sure, but Kenney will surface elsewhere as bottom feeders like him often do. Sickening to see all those singing his praises on twitter, especially the abominable Christy Clark. In the meantime, hopefully the wonderful Notley can win the next provincial election. BC Waterboy.
That old proverb has it right, waterboy. "He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind."
Good riddance. Kenney was always a nasty piece of work. Maybe this'll force him to get "a real job," as the Cons like to say.
Cap
This reminds me of the French Revolution when ardent supporters were executed by other ardent supporters for not being quite enthusiastic enough or having slightly differing ideas.
Thomas Paine, himself pretty extreme by the standards of his day, narrowly escaped execution through a freak of fate. His prison cell door was marked with the sign for execution but his friends had it left open since he was seriously ill and needed the ventilation. So the guards overlooked the sign.
I suspect that the majority of Canadians agree with you, Cap.
Perhaps, like Paine, Kenney will slip off quietly into the night, ffd.
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