[Dion]

Lorne Gunter given a sneek peak of the NDP campaign brochures for the spring election. Says the party is going to promote leader Rachel Notley as opposed to the party itself. They are gambling on Notley's approval ratings

Advanced copies of the New Democrats’ campaign brochures are out and, as predicted, they feature Rachel Notley and barely mention the NDP.

The premier is nearly twice as popular as her party. Notley’s personal approval rating is in the low 40s. Meanwhile, her party’s popularity is stuck, in most polls, in the low- to mid-20s.

So if I were crafting the Alberta NDP strategy, I would do exactly what the party’s war room is doing — upselling their strong point (Notley) and downplaying everything and everyone else.

The campaign brochures I received mention the NDP only once. In fine print, in a lower corner, it confesses “Authorized by Alberta’s NDP.” But it is in the smallest font on the page.

The brochures are customized for each NDP MLA and candidate. If the individual has an email address or Twitter handle that mentions the NDP, that’s on the brochure as well. But for those New Dems who don’t yet have a party address or Twitter feed, the tiny, discreet “Authorized” message is the one and only mention of what party is sponsoring the brochure.

The New Democrats are pretty sure they can’t get most Albertans to vote for them in the provincial election expected next May, but they are hoping you just might think about re-electing that nice Notley lady.

On the brochure for Labour Minister Christina Gray (and every other New Democratic candidate), it proclaims “I know Rachel Notley is fighting for you, me and all Albertans.” And it boasts that Gray is part of “the team” that is fighting for “a new pipeline and ensuring good jobs.”

But where the logo usually reads “Alberta’s NDP,” on the campaign brochures it says simply “Rachel Notley.”

Interestingly, the NDP brochures say not a word about the environment or Notley’s Climate Leadership Plan or hers and Trudeau’s “social licence” strategy for getting pipelines built.

https://edmontonsun.com/opinion/columnists/gunter-2