Photo Radar: A Strange Argument

After three long weeks of local, national and even international speculation over Jason Kenney's comments about notifying parents should their children join GSAs, he has reemerged as only an unelected provincial representative can; on social media.  Tuesday, Jason Kenney released a video weighing in on the all-encompassing topic of photo radar.

That last bit might be news.  Photo radar has certainly been in the news over the years and in fact has been brought up by others, including an ex-radar operator in Edmonton as recently as 2015.  To the best of my knowledge, it isn't exactly a relevant political party issue that is begging for someone to take the lead on, but hey, it got people talking. 

Is photo radar a tax grab?  A solid argument could be made that it allows for lower taxes for everyone. To begin with, it is a much less expensive way to encourage order than an officer standing on every corner.   And I doubt Kenney is advocating for spending additional funds on people, benefits and police vehicles.  Is being stopped by a police officer instead of receiving an emotionless photo of your vehicle speeding through a photo radar zone better?  After receiving a ticket on Saturday morning, I can say, no, it didn't make me feel better.

If the municipalities were to remove photo radar, where would the additional income come from?  According to one article, the City of Edmonton brought in $34,500,000 in revenue from photo radar in 2015.  That revenue is not added to the city's general revenue but is earmarked for traffic safety initiatives,  Signs cost money, traffic lights cost money, policing costs money.  Where would the money come from if not from photo radar?  The province (all Albertans) or the city (all Edmontonians)?  Does it make sense to remove a revenue stream from people who break the law and add it instead to law-abiding citizens?  It's a strange argument to make. 

There is another aspect to photo radar as well.  Does it make a difference?  There are two photo radar locations I drive through quite regularly in Calgary.  Both are at heavy traffic intersections and both have high risks of collisions.  Remember those cute signs of a car with a dent that said "high collision area"?   Personally, I remember it's a photo radar location better than a high risk area and I know I take better care.  According to an article from this year, since photo radar was handed over to the City of Edmonton in 2013, serious injuries are on the decline.  Deaths are also declining but there was an uptick in 2015 that skews the graph. 2016 numbers show an overall decline within the last decade.  

Calling photo radar a "tax grab" simply makes no sense.  Although there is a fee associated with breaking the law, the only people who pay that fee are those who actually break the law.  The last one I received was in 2013, so yes, I did pay a photo radar ticket four years ago but not since.  I do, however, pay income taxes every hour that I work.  I also pay GST when I buy things and I pay a carbon tax as well.  These are things I pay because they're charged in addition to regular things I buy or do.  Those are taxes.  Everyone pays them. The good news is there's no legal ramification for not speeding and it's not nearly as difficult as avoiding taxes. 

AB Liberals: A Leadership Race Announcement

At 7:15 am on Wednesday morning, the 5th of April, I received a forwarded message inviting me to a get-together on the 6th at Aloft in Calgary where  Kerry Cundal was going to make an announcement. For the past week and a half, the upcoming leadership race has received a fair amount of attention since Nolan Crouse, previously running in an uncontested race, suddenly withdrew.  On March 29, 17 there were only two days remaining for potential candidates to register and Crouse's withdrawal, which he stated was for reasons which "would be kept private", had some of us politically obsessed individuals scratching their heads.  Speculation swiftly circulated that two individuals, David Khan and Kerry Cundal, may be putting their names forward in Crouse's stead.

David Khan made his announcement on March 31, but Kerry, while she admitted to registering, said she had not yet decided if she was going to run.  Announcing an announcement, with only three days until the leadership debate, suggested it was an invitation to a campaign launch, but what would I know?   I hadn't started attending events for the PC Leadership Race until the final months so this was my first one and I was really looking forward to starting at the very beginning.  It is also worth noting this race is scheduled for a whirlwind three months rather than six as the new party leader is expected to be announced June 4, 2017.

I was going to meet up with a friend before the event so we could drive in together.  Unfortunately he pulled a Michael Scott and let his GPS guide him to a location much farther than the "two minutes" from his turn that I had instructed.  I checked a mental map and figured the middle from where he ended up would be Aloft so we met there instead.

We were welcomed by a couple of people from Kerry's team and they directed us to the pool where the event was being held.  We weren't early and there were already around 20 people in the room.  Considering it was 7:30 at night, the light in the room made it feel as if it was around mid-day.  This wasn't a problem until afterwards when I had the stark realization that it was nearing 11:00 pm on a work night and still had an hour drive back home.

Kerry Cundal - Liberal Leadership Candidate 

There were people with cameras and a steady stream of enthusiasts still arriving behind us.  We purchased some drinks and claimed a cocktail table while eyeing up the appetizer trays that lined both sides of the room.  I may joke that I attend for the food but it's also completely true.

The first person to stop by and chat was a woman from Calgary via Ontario.  She told us it was a very different feeling supporting the liberals in Alberta as opposed to what she was used to.  "The party has such a strong following" in Ontario she said.  She asked whether we thought the party had a chance provincially (which seemed like a strange question to ask at a Liberal Party event).

One person at our table was from BC and we talked about the difference between political parties in other provinces.  She had trouble with the PC party "big tent" idea since in Ontario, a Liberal, apparently, is a Liberal and doesn't belong to a PC party.  In Alberta, as we know, it used to be different.

The second person we talked to was another woman from Calgary, but a long-time resident.  I was really interested in her opinion because she said she wasn't really politically engaged but came with a friend. Unfortunately my questions came too fast and furiously and she asked, somewhat disapprovingly, if I was a reporter.  That was awkward.

People began to clap and our attention was drawn to the balcony overlooking the pool.  Kerry had arrived and she was talking with reporters upstairs.  I have to say I was caught up in the anticipation of the moment.  While the event's existence pointed to her announcing she would run, I wasn't making any assumptions.  What I had heard around the water coolers was that her announcement would be especially worthwhile.

She was introduced and took the microphone at the front end of the pool room.  She began with an acknowledgement to our gathering on Treaty 7 land and told us she had only just flown back from Ottawa earlier in the day.  She said she was looking forward to the coffee and meetings over the next few months and she was no stranger to hard work.  Hard work, she said, was what she was expecting on this campaign.  Then she got straight down to business: "We need to bring the centre together for 2019."

Back in 2015 I remember a twitter account named "Liberals for Greg Clark".  For all I know, it was even their account but I've been thinking of it since.  Was she talking about the new centre now that the PC Party had abandoned it? Was she talking about a coalition or unification?  I wish I could answer those questions but she didn't elaborate during the rest of the speech.

She's lived around the province.  I couldn't keep up with all of the places she'd lived but I did catch Grande Prairie, St. Albert, Sylvan Lake and Calgary.  "Most of us came from small town Alberta" she told us and I could relate to that. She said she was committed to service and committed to certain principles like "the rule of law for everyone".  "Feminism is not cancer" she declared and offered a firm "no thank you" to the politics of Jason Kenney and Brian Jean.

"The NDP have good policies" she said "but they aren't getting the job done.  They need more fiscal responsibility" and she doesn't see that happening. "This is not about titles or labels, this is about Alberta: Alberta matters."  She talked about how we were looking at an election with the NDP on one side, the Conservatives on the other and the Liberals should be taking advantage of it; not sitting on the sidelines.  She wants to connect with progressives who care about our finances and she hopes David Khan joins in. "The Liberal Party has good principles, good people with smart ideas and good policy" she said "policy that doesn't belong in a drawer, it belongs in the legislature."

It sounded like those in the room agreed with her as their applause was frequent and their cheering was loud.  We talked with a few more people throughout the rest of the evening and they were bolder in their vision: they are interested in a united centre to take to the polls in 2019.  Somehow, Alberta politics just became even more interesting.

D.

Wildrose: Whose Side of the Wall are They Really On?

On March 29, 2017, someone from Whitecap Resources in Calgary provided a letter they'd received from Brad Wall to the Canadian Press.  That letter was an advertisement of what benefits would be awaiting Whitecap Resources should they decide to pack up their Calgary operations and relocate to Saskatchewan.  While some considered it standard poaching, others suggested it could also be a breach of current trade agreements.  

Brian Jean, Leader of the Wildrose Party

Obviously, there are those of us in Alberta who are not exactly thrilled with the idea that our neighbour is attempting to steal Alberta jobs but some of us weren't exactly Wall fans to begin with.  What about people who were Wall fans?  The ones who peppered their commentary with adulation for "Alberta's Other Premier"?  Well, they're still on his side. Why shouldn't they be? 

If Alberta-based companies pick up and move to Saskatchewan, the official opposition will have the one thing they don't have yet: evidence.  Certainly, there have been job losses in Alberta from an oil free-fall but that happened in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland as well; under a Conservative and Liberal government, respectively.  What the official opposition desperately needs is evidence but what Alberta needs is someone who has our back here at home.

Instead of defending Alberta jobs while in Saskatchewan on Mar. 31, 2017, Prasad Panda, MLA for Calgary-Foothills blamed Notley for attacking "everyone (in Alberta) with tax increases" (though he didn't mention Premier Wall's recent tax increase).  In a video posted to Facebook last week, Brian Jean says he doesn't "want to tolerate other provinces being a better place to invest than Alberta" (but apparently, he will).  Even during question period today, Derek Fildebrandt said that although he thinks Brad Wall violated the New West Partnership agreement, he wonders if the NDP didn't start the fight by imposing increased rates on imported beer. Those are just the recent comments but this anti-Alberta behaviour has been going on for months.

Contrary to this Wildrose narrative, Alberta's corporate tax structure, lack of a PST and lower personal income taxes still make it a better place to invest for businesses. The Wildrose seem to be firmly against encouraging business to stay, doing almost as good a job recommending that businesses seek greener pastures as Brad Wall. 

Brad Wall is pouring salt on the wound of a city and an economy that is still feeling the sting of low oil prices.  Is it unexpected? Hardly.  Ever since the NDP was elected, Mr. Wall has been campaigning in Alberta; especially for oil investment.

Back in June of 2016, Wall was already on his business development tour of Alberta speaking to the Calgary Petroleum Club members.  He was more subtle than he has been since but the goal was the same.  I'm all for having a hero but I think it's time the Wildrose stop cheerleading for Brad Wall and start supporting those who should really matter to a party vying for government: Albertans.

Centre Together - An Alberta Party Event

For the past week and a half, I have been waiting impatiently for tonight.  I met a friend in Calgary and we drove down to Hudson's on 12th and 5th for a "Centre Together" event hosted by the Alberta Party.  I've been to Alberta Party events before but this one was different: this event was inviting progressives from the PC Party who felt like they had no home.

A couple of weeks ago at the PC leadership convention I met many progressives from the PC Party.  I also met conservatives.  I didn't expect to run into any of the conservatives at an Alberta Party event (although I did hear that a Kenney delegate from the leadership convention was spotted at the event in Edmonton the night before) but I was excited to see if any of the progressives I met would show.  I already had one of them as my plus one, but would anyone else make an entrance?

I know some people from the Alberta Party but it's hard to know everyone.  My friend is a new Alberta Party member and he knows a lot of people who worked very hard for the PC Party.  With him by my side, I was able to distinguish between members I'd never met before and PC members who were looking to see what Greg Clark and the Alberta Party had to offer.

We mingled with Liberals, former PC supporters and Alberta Party members new and old while waiting for Greg to speak.  The hot topic for everyone was uniting the centre.  Having been so recently immersed in "Unite the Right" conversations, I was pleased to hear something else. Then again, this event was not about uniting parties; it was about uniting like-minded individuals which is what the Alberta Party has always positioned itself as.  My question of the night was whether or not the possibility of a split in the federal conservative party, which Jason Kenney touts as evidence for the success of a united provincial party, would cause greater obstacles than Kenney himself has.

Stephanie Wiebe/CBC

When Greg took the microphone, he did not disappoint. "This is a centrist party.  It is a big tent but it has very strong walls. If you want to roll back LGBTQ rights or women's reproductive rights, you are welcome to have that opinion; and you are welcome to have it somewhere else" he finished to cheers.  He spoke about the opportunity Alberta has, with its well-educated and skilled workforce to be a leader in innovation as we look towards a new era.  He knows the lay of Calgary and what the people here have to offer. He talked about how Albertans already have the necessary education, skills and entrepreneurial drive to be gloabl leaders in the growing alternative energy sector.

One woman, who said she was a liberal supporter and had voted for them in 2015, asked what the biggest difference was between the Liberal party and the Alberta Party.  Unsurprisingly, Greg replied "momentum".  There are a number of similarities between the Alberta Party and the Alberta Liberal party and the PC Party, with fewer, but existing similarities with the Wildrose, NDP and Greens.  Personally, when Greg says "big tent", that's exactly what it means to me.  Greg has always said that good ideas can come from anywhere and shouldn't be ignored based on who has them.  It's reassuring to know there are limits to that "big tent" all the same.

Former PC members said they felt welcomed by the leader and party members.  After what they just went through, I imagine this was much different.  One said it was "refreshing" and another said they felt "excited to be part of building something".  Others were discussing how many people they already knew who planned to run as candidates for the Alberta Party in 2019.

Last year, the Alberta Party events felt like the "the little party that could".  There was still a feeling of satisfaction because the leader had been elected and he was doing a great job in the legislature.  He was making headlines, working overtime to be part of the many committees, submitting shadow budgets... there was a lot of pride emanating from the membership.  Last night, there was still a sense of pride in the air but there was more; drive... optimism... and something else.

Someone once told me the problem with progressives was they didn't get angry.  He said they rationalize information and that tendency keeps them from fueling motivation.  This wasn't what I felt last night.  Something unjust had happened, could happen, and here was a group of people who had lost their party but were welcomed, and interested, in the Alberta Party.

While other leaders are trying to build a big tent with no boundaries, it was refreshing to hear someone who was willing to be clear and uncompromising about his beliefs. We all need something worth fighting for.  Thankfully, you don't have to be angry to do that; just strong.

D

Who Would Give up Their Seat for Jason Kenney?

Will Jason Kenney remain unemployed as PC leader, or will he be fortuitous enough to discover a suddenly vacated riding to run in?  At this moment, we have no vacant ridings in Alberta so if he wants a seat, someone will have to give it up for him.  While there is obviously strong support for Kenney from the Wildrose Camp, I expect it would have far better optics to see a PC MLA to step down.

Global News Photos

The list of current PC MLAs is conveniently short: Wayne Drysdale, Mike Ellis, Prab Gill, Rick Fraser, Ric McIver, Richard Starke, Dave Rodney and Richard Gotfried.  Since Wayne Drysdale and Richard Starke are MLAs outside of Calgary, I highly doubt it will be one of them so we can reduce the possible candidates to six.  Prab Gill was the last MLA elected and he replaced the dearly departed Manmeet Bhullar.  I'm going to remove him as well but not because he was the last one elected; I'll come back to that.  Now we have five.

Ric McIver, as interim leader, had not publicly backed a candidate but he did tweet out a picture of himself and former PC member and Kenney advisor, Alan Hallman, watching the Medicine Hat leadership debate together. The assumption is that he favours Kenney.  Rick Fraser hasn't declared who has his support for the leadership but he has been very quiet both in and out of the legislature.   Dave Rodney, Richard Gotfried, and Mike Ellis have all publicly endorsed Jason Kenney.

Dave Rodney, Calgary-Lougheed was first elected in 2004 and is one of the two longest-serving MLAs in the PC Party right now.  Rick Fraser,Calgary-Southeast, and Ric McIver, Calgary Hays, were both elected in 2012. Mike Ellis, Calgary-West, was elected in 2014 and Richard Gotfried, Calgary Fish Creek, was elected in 2015.  In my opinion, any one of these MLAs would give up their seat for Jason Kenney but in this case, favourability lies in the numbers.

If you paid attention to the number of votes in 2015 (or since), you would notice that pretty much everyone in urban centres had a tight race.  Without bogging this down further, the following MLA's won their ridings by the following number of votes: Gotfried, 129, Fraser 305, Gill, 313, Rodney, 502, McIver 1,533 and Ellis 3,372.

The main reason I discount Gill is because they just had a by-election in Calgary-Greenway in 2016 and the turnout was a dismal 28%.  Gill ended up with 2,292 votes to WRP's 1979, Liberal's 1,849 and the NDP's 1,699.  Say what you will about coming in fourth place but a margin of 593 votes between the first and fourth place candidate is not a cushion I think Kenney would be comfortable with.  Now I don't honestly believe that Kenney is actually using a 1+1=2 formula to figure out where he has the best chance of winning because that's not statistically viable and he, or someone he pays, knows that.

Based on the numbers, Ellis had the strongest margin of support of any of the current MLAs.  He was also the first sitting MLA to endorse Kenney on September 16, 2016.  Most interestingly, Ellis mentioned in his endorsement that Kenney "has always been a leader in our community" (emphasis mine).

Even though Gotfried is the only PC MLA within Kenney's old federal riding of Calgary-Midnapore, Gotfried won by the least amount. That seat had previously belonged to Heather Forsyth, the former PC who crossed over to Wildrose in 2010.  She barely won her seat in 2012 with 38 more votes than the PC candidate.  It's a risk I wouldn't see Kenney taking.

My number one pick, therefore, between the current PC MLA's who would be most likely to give up his seat for Jason Kenney is Mike Ellis.

Note: I've heard through the grapevine that Kenney will not be vying for a seat until 2019.  My thought on that is either he doesn't trust his ability to win until there's a united conservative party for him to run under or he's going to take advantage of being "unemployed" while campaigning for the united party.  Or maybe it's both.

The Final PC Alberta Convention (with Buttons)

I collected every button I could find because I felt this would be the last time they would be made.  In retrospect, I should have taken extras.  I went into the convention without a horse in the race; I was only there as an observer, after all.  I also went to talk politics because I figured there would be one or two people around who would be into that.

Upon my arrival, I went to each of the candidate tables and picked up some swag (buttons) and each one went into my purse.  I knew the Kenney supporters would likely be the majority of attendees and because I love to talk politics, I wanted to have that opportunity by not wearing my views like scarlet letters.  I talked with someone I'd known from another career.  I talked with a young-ish couple who turned out to be Kenney supporters.  I decided I would introduce myself to people I recognized from Twitter and meet some progressives to round out the experience. 

As it turned out, my first instinct about not proclaiming my views with visual aids was correct.  My new acquaintances from Red Deer and I were getting along swimmingly until they saw my pin from Duncan Kinney (which I loved so I put on as soon as he gave it to me and forgot I was wearing it).  The one noticed it and I saw her mouth go "OH".  I ignored that and put my button back into my purse as we headed over to Kenney's party.  The room was huge, the music was loud, the lights were low and it kind of felt like it was the end of the night after a wedding.  I had to make some calls and I wanted to check out the other parties as well so I bailed.

I went up to Byron Nelson's suite and I could hear from the elevators that there were jovial people about.  The atmosphere was extremely upbeat and I talked with a few people and had a beer.  Slight digression here because it needs to be said: domestic drinks were $9 and premiums were $11.  Byron was giving out free beer.  I had a Heineken.  Anyway, I talked with some people, met Byron, got a card or two and made a new acquaintance who was heading to Richard Starke's party.  The atmosphere at Byron's party was super but the room was way too small and all those people gave it a muggy, hot feeling that I was completely overdressed for. 

We arrived at Richard Starke's party and that was a happening place.  The lights were on, there was seating and food (and $9 + drinks) and people were in a great mood.  I also found one of my Twitter buds and we talked politics.  At one point, a guy wearing a Sewer Rat button (I got one later) showed up and started talking with us.  He was happily complaining about the carbon tax and then moved on to talk about how it's a nice idea to go green energy and all "but how are they going to pay for it?!" My cohort said "the carbon tax" just as I coughed out "carbon tax" and we all had a great laugh. This was what I came for: people talking politics without having a conniption.

Kenney supporters were milling about, there were MLAs and campaign gurus and tonnes of volunteers and we all got to talk politics and have some laughs.  Looking back, those pre-vote parties were a celebration of the hard work that had gone into the campaigns.  A feeling of optimism was in the air; anything was possible tomorrow.  Sort of.

Some of us who pay attention to numbers thought the vote would go a certain way.  I have to admit that after I spent time with people from the Starke party, I realized that not everyone thought the outcome was going to be what it was.  Talking with one of the people from Starke's campaign, I asked if there were plans for a post-vote get-together.  She seemed unsure of what I might be referring to and I showed her the invite I had from Duncan for a "wake" that was scheduled at 7:00 the next night. What happened next was when it finally hit me that my disassociation to the outcome had caused me to neglect something very important; the people for whom the outcome really did matter.  She started to cry.  Needless to say, I felt horrible.  And humbled.

In the morning I met up with my new pal from the night before.  The campaigns were busy working on the candidate speeches and I was pretty excited for those.  I had missed them the night before because registration was rather disastrous and I was in line while they were taking place.  I found myself a seat in between a Kenney supporter and two Starke supporters.

The speeches were on point; their last effort at influencing the voters.  Byron still believed in the PC party and respected his fellow candidates.  Starke outlined the numerous embarrassing moments for the Wildrose.  Is that what people wanted from their elected officials, he asked, because that's what they were heading into with a united party.  As he started to list off the bozo eruptions, loud boos came from the back of the room. At first I wasn't sure if they were booing the acts themselves or the fact that he mentioned them.  It turned out to be the latter as, when I finally located the sound, it was coming from a large group holding Kenney signs.


My Starke companions were an elderly couple who scoffed frequently during Kenney's speech.  On the other side of me, the Kenney supporters were just as frequently getting up to clap.  When Kenney spoke again about the success of the united federal party one woman yelled out "but you lost that election!" Not that it matters, apparently.

We had three and a half hours to wait for the voting to take place and the votes to be counted. The candidates were busy with media interviews and I had plenty of time to talk to people.  I discovered there was another layer to the vote that I hadn't really considered: the plan.  Kenney had strong support, obviously, and people who actually want to see him as the leader of the next conservative party.  But one gentleman who left the PC's for the Wildrose a couple of years ago had an interesting story.  He said he was undecided about the leadership of the new party.

Though he was partial to Brian Jean, he felt Jean didn't utilize the media to the full extent he should.  As a delegate, he said he spoke to Kenney and Starke a number of times trying to gauge which would be a better choice for what he was interested in.  Kenney, he said, had explained his unity plan in such a way that this delegate felt it would be most successful.  For starters, the PCs had enough money to pay off the party debt.  According to what he understood, the plan is to fold the PC party and have the sitting MLAs move into the Wildrose.  The Wildrose will then be renamed and rebranded.

I spoke with a number of people while we were waiting for the voting booths to close.  More than one of those people spoke with more passion about the plan put forward than the candidates.  More than one of them said that's what they had voted for.  Starke's plan relegated Wildrose to perpetual opposition and they didn't think Wildrose would go for that.   A vote for Kenney's plan, they said, was not necessarily a vote for Kenney.  Interestingly, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of a "white knight" entering the united party leadership race.

After the vote tally was announced, I saw the couple of Starke supporters I'd sat next to that morning.  They were looking quite dejected and I decided to go tell them what I'd learned from people I'd talked to.  When I told them some were more interested in the plan than the candidate they seemed relieved. She looked up at her husband with what I can only describe as surprised optimism.  They thanked me for telling them and said it gave them some hope.

 Someone asked me why I even cared about this and I decided the reason was fairness.  The Nelson and Starke supporters were trying to keep their party and someone who didn't care about their party in the first place saw an opportunity to force them to give it up.  Yes, this is politics.  The only way forward for a genuine conservative party is to obliterate the baggage from the PC Party and the Wildrose Party.  While it wasn't all bad, a party with no history has no baggage; but I doubt that will last very long.

Go In Peace, PC Party

We are officially less than 12 hours away from the launch of the PC Leadership Convention and excitement is in the air!  To be clear, there's no sense of anticipation regarding the actual leadership vote as there's very little probability that Jason Kenney will not win.  If he's been truthful about the elected delegates being on his team, this is hardly even a contest. What's really exhilarating is that there will be a new race starting on March 19, 2017!  How can we be so lucky to have all of this activity in between election years?!

Strangely enough, the Leadership race has shown us what Albertans and many PC members thought about the party: they're done.  There are a few hangers on; some passionate and dedicated individuals who don't want to see their party dissolved into obscurity and I feel for them.  Ironically, the man who believes everyone has the right to die a slow painful death wants to be the one to remove the PC jugular and save it from such a fate.

The new United Conservative party will be the next big conversation piece in Alberta politics and it will be anything but dull.  Back in Nov - Dec 2016 a poll specifically asked those who favoured a United Conservative party if they would prefer a party led by Brian Jean or Jason Kenney.  Respondents chose Jean.  At that time, Brian Jean was claiming the Wildrose was not interested in joining with the PC party.  Only a mere month later, Jean announced he would step down from the Wildrose and run for leadership of that united party.

Then came a new twist.  A few days ago, another poll claimed that although Jean still held the lead in a race with Kenney he was not the front runner.  With an easy majority of votes, the clear winner to lead a United Conservative party was "I don't know", followed closely by "Someone else".  The publicly interested candidates are third and fourth... out of four possible choices.

Now that's what builds anticipation.  Who could this potential leader be?  People have suggested yet a third CPC MP alternative in Rona Ambrose but she hasn't shown any interest in the role.  Is there another former CPC MP who might be up to the task?  Would the membership even consider someone who wasn't a CPC MP?  Is there someone just biding their time until the united party is created?  The plot is so full of possible twists that whiplash becomes more than a potential side effect.

And that, my friends, will give everyone something to talk about.


D.