Klein gets just 55% support from Tories

[Canada 02]

Wow! Did not expect it to be any where near this bad! As a Tory-supporter, I hope he steps down soon for the good of the party.

Thanks Ralph for 13 years of public service. It is time for a new leader.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../National/home

[jimmy11]

Ya, it looks like Ralph is done. Its going to be the end of an era, and really weird having someone else running the province.

Bring on Jim Dinning.

[browna]

Not a surprise...the non supporters are likely most candidate hopefulls and thier backers, hoping Ralph leaves sooner then later.

Right now, any one of us could run the province with its huge surplus, and benefits from some of Ralph's mid-90's cutbacks which trimmed a lot of the fat in this province and allowed it to grow into what it is today.

A bitter pill at the time for many, but the efficiencies created by Ralph back then laid the ground wook for this province moving miles ahead of others (resource revenue or not) in terms of economic responsiblity and government spending actaully being most often proper.

So you have a bunch of people in the Party looking to be the one to win and get on the Resource Revenue Train and sit back on cruise control and reap the rewards of being the leader of the richest and probabaly most efficiently run province in the country. The hard work and real tough decisions on the hot button issues are pretty much done for the next 5 years.

End of an era is right.

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

I think it was becoming obvious there is some discontent within the tory camp. I was surprised with the low level of support. I figured Klein would probably get something in the neighborhood of 60-65%.

The vote isn't a sign that tories are fed up with Klein. They just don't want to see a protracted leadership race that could take 2 years. Look what happened to the federal Liberals when Jean Chretien took forever to leave. Nobody wanted to see that here. That kind of drawn out leadership race has the potential to create some ugly and very damaging rifts within the party.

And you get the sense that Klein's heart isn't really in it anymore. Remember years ago he said he would leave when he no longer had the "fire in his belly". Well the fire is apparantly out or has been reduced to glowing embers.

I think party delegates did the right thing for the party. But Albertans shouldn't forget that Klein was able to accomplish what he set out to do many years ago.

[White Doors]

Klein should leave soon. Used to like him but he has been coasting for a couple of years now.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by jimmy11

Bring on Jim Dinning.

Could be another blast from the past.....

Manning, the son of Social Credit Premier Ernest Manning, said he would need to be persuaded that entering a Tory leadership race would be best for the party, the province and his family, as broad a hint that he would enter the race, if invited, of course.

I'll pass on Preston thanks, too much baggage from the Reform days.

[browna]

Reading the Edmonton papers on the ride home today, and consenus is (IMO correctly) that this is a black mark on the Tory party.

Even the "anti-Klein" group was sheepishly embarrassed at the result, one going so far as saying, that if they knew if the result was going to turn out like this, many would've voted differently. Weak politics, but it shows what high level that the spin masters are already working at behind the scenes for the leadership hopefulls, persuading other party members like this.

The pro-Klein group was spitting fire, especially at those in Oberg's camp and Dinning's who'are saying he backstabbed Kelin by organizing this vote against them.

Danny Williams was in town and also basted the Tory party, saying that if he accomplishes even a slice of what Klein did in office, he would hope he would get more respect that what he was shown by his own party.

No thanks to Manning, someone younger...not sure who else is out there, although as some articles said today, Dinning and Oberg didn't advance their cause within the grass roots Conservative ranks, by this weekend's undiginfied events.

Sutter for Preimer?