WRAP warps into first
In a recent poll, the Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta is now way out in front of Ed's PCs, who are now tied with Swann's Liberals.
39% Wildrose
25% PC
25% Liberal
9% NDP
h/t daveberta
If I was Danielle Smith, I would ignore this poll. There's still much to be done in the party to build it into a strong, disciplined organization. They don't even have 87 constituency associations setup yet, let alone a sound, prioritized policy platform. They have a long way to go yet, especially funding. My sources tell me they lost some potential big donations due to a lack of judgment by hiring Stephen Carter who posted a derogatory comment on Twitter about Premier Ed Stelmach's speech.
Besides that, from my cheap seats, I read that Smith recently spoke about anthropogenic global warming (AGW) being a myth (very bold of her), and appears to be buddy-buddy with the energy and oil industry (a good thing in this province).
It's obvious that Alberta conservatives are simply not happy with the PCs and are merely parking their vote to the Wildrose in protest. Or are they simply impressed with Danielle over Ed as an articulate spokesperson for Albertans?
Is there also a deeper issue in government democracy, accountability, and transparency? Perhaps. Everyone knows how secretive and tight the PC caucus is.
So the questions remain...
1) Will Danielle Smith be able to harness Alberta conservative frustration of the PC government and continue the momentum she apparently has?
2) From this, will the party attract quality candidates?
3) Will they be able to raise enough funds to run a credible campaign?
Time will tell.
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4 comments:
What goes up too fast, you know... I don't think the last poll is good news for the Wildrose. That momentum on steroids is not sustainable.
I agree. When is reality going to set in? Once the writ is dropped. Everything before that is moot.
Ms. Smith has been touring the province meeting with numerous groups both large and small. She has consulted with oil company executives, farmer's groups, chamber of commerce people, local members, and representatives from the forestry and mining industries.
Ms. Smith is doing the very thing that all the commentators are suggesting such as establishing riding associations and interviewing potential candidates.
Since there is no chance that Stelmach will drop the writ before his term has fully expired, that gives the party sufficient time to solidify its base, hammer out a platform, and raise the funds necessary to take on the PC machine. To add the cherry to the top of the ice cream, it appears as if the Tories are hell-bent on providing more and more reasone not to support them.
This movement ain't no flash in the pan.
Powell is right. The party is doing exactly what DOn Braid said -- organize feverishly, get policy going, and stay a bit out of the limelight.
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