I will be travelling in China for the next two weeks, so posting may be lagging the news cycle, or otherwise sporadic for my, uh, dozens of loyal readers.
Not to worry, though! I will be pushing forward with coverage of all those races that are coming up: France‘s presidential election on April 22, Alberta‘s provincial elections on April 23, London‘s mayoral election on May 3, Greece‘s parliamentary elections on May 6 — and beyond.
With the Albertan provincial election just a week away, this latest nugget cannot be good news for the Progressive Conservative party:
A majority of Alberta’s 28 federal MPs are quietly “leaning” in the direction of the Wildrose party, which is seeking next week to end the Progressive Conservative dynasty in the province, says Calgary MP Rob Anders.
“I think I can safely say that the majority of members of Parliament inside the Alberta caucus, that I’m aware of, are leaning Wildrose,” said the MP for Calgary West, according to Monday’s edition of the Hill Times, an Ottawa-based weekly political and public policy newspaper.
“There are still a few stragglers who are supporting the Progressive Conservatives, but they’re more reluctant to make a public admission of that because they see the numbers and where things are heading.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has told his MPs in Alberta, B.C. and Quebec to feel free to publicly endorse whichever candidates they choose, since all three provinces have parties on the centre-right competing for voters who back Harper federally, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said last month.
The news breaks as the PC leader and current premier Alison Redford had to deny reports of a rift with former premier Ralph Klein, whose nearly two decades at the helm of the PC lock on Alberta’s government looms over the campaign, which could see the PCs forced out of office for the first time in 41 years. Continue reading Wildrose may be leading among federal Tories