Opposition stems from handling of pandemic

Aheer, the MLA for Chestermere-strathmore, was kicked out of cabinet in July after she said the premier should apologize for lounging on the Sky Palace balcony with Shandro and other ministers.

This wave of opposition to Kenney stems mainly from the epic error of declaring Alberta “Open for Summer,” then standing by while the virus spread, and finally imposing another round of quickly planned measures last week.

The delays have crashed the health system. Twenty-nine people died Monday. Alberta is begging Ottawa and other provinces for help.

“We in the party hit the end of the line last Wednesday,” says Joel Mullan, policy vice-president of Kenney's UCP.

“We were already right on the edge at the start of September but last Wednesday was it.”

Mullan, the first party executive to publicly abandon Kenney, sent me the text of a blistering criticism he published Tuesday.

“Until last week I was one of Jason Kenney's most vocal supporters,” Mullan wrote. “I campaigned for him in both leadership races and the unity vote.

“In light of the choices he has made last week I can no longer support him, and indeed believe he must resign.

“His communications have been disastrous, his planning in the pandemic without vision or flexibility … time and again he seems to be unwilling to plan for more than one possibility with the virus … He has chosen to paint himself into a corner on several occasions where the only way out is to make himself a liar.”

Mullan comes from the “freedom” side of the opposition that believes Kenney is imposing tyranny.

Neither wing of his party or the increasingly dysfunctional caucus is happy with him.

Kenney paints a picture of himself soldiering on against the virus, apart from politics. The public doesn't want a leadership war at a time like this, he says.

“Our entire team needs to be focused on one thing and one thing only right now.” Anything else would be “a self-indulgent political sideshow.”

Nonetheless, the sideshow moves into a caucus meeting Wednesday, where Kenney may be directly challenged by MLAS demanding his resignation. One senior member at least plans to do that to his face.

It's now pretty clear that Kenney won't go voluntarily. But the months ahead could look rougher still, especially when new party fundraising numbers come out after the end of September.

The UCP has run far behind the NDP in fundraising for several quarters now.

One former party executive in the Progressive Conservative world, who saw several premiers forced out, says: “in the end it was always about the money.”