SLOBODIAN: Is now the time for all men of goodwill to come to the aid of the premier?

Efforts are brewing to replace Premier Danielle Smith as party leader, led by a disgruntled few who nurse hurt feelings over this and that.I do not expect them to amount to anything. But it is tiresome that they happen at all. What do people even want?What are the rumours worth? Not much, but The Counter Signal recently reported a whistleblower alleged self-identified left-wingers were approached by Conservative plotters to join the UCP and “flood” the November 1-2 annual general meeting (AGM) and vote to remove Smith during her leadership review.However, at this point Smith doesn’t appear to have much to worry about when she faces 5,000 UCP members expected to head to Red Deer’s Westerner Park.“What I'm hearing is internally she's very strong. The numbers are very, very strong,” said Edmonton UCP board director Vince Byfield.“There is criticism of her leadership, some of it is warranted. But the big question is, if not her, then who exactly? And there's no obvious alternative.”Smith made a lot of promises when she was elected premier in October 2022.“Has she done everything? No. Has she done a lot? Yes. Is she moving as fast as people would like? Probably not. Some people would like it yesterday.”“I think we are being very well served by a premier that is going out of her way to reach not only the general membership, but to the general population as well. She is the most accessible premier I think we've had in decades,” he said pointing to Smith’s regular radio shows and town hall meetings.It's no secret that Smith inherited a deeply fractured party, including MLAs fiercely loyal to ousted former premier Jason Kenney. “The reality is that the very first thing that Danielle did when she got leadership is she took them all out for a three-day retreat complete with paintball. And so, it was basically ‘Shoot me as much as you want here. And then, but then that's the end of it.’”“I think it was very satisfying for some of the people that had run up against her. And they became her strongest supporters, with the exception of Travis Toews who did not run again.”After the Sylvan Lake retreat, MLAs like Highwood’s RJ Sigurdson and Taber-Warner’s Grant Hunter who endorsed Toews’ leadership bid enthusiastically pledged support for Smith. Even close Kenney ally Jason Nixon (Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre) vowed to “work hard” with her to keep the party united.Meanwhile, Smith has worked hard to ensure elected MLAs appointed cabinet ministers wielded the power, not their departmental bureaucrats.“She's having to work with her cabinet, embolden them to say ‘No, you were elected to do a job. You have to hold the line. You have to get tough. You have to keep bringing costs down, bring cost down, bring costs down.’ That’s her style.”As well, Byfield said a strong UCP board is in place with the intentions of serving Albertans well.Smith has faced harsh criticism over not following through on a promise to create an Alberta Provincial Police force.“I think she is moving forward on that,” said Byfield. In fact, Smith told an August 17th town hall event that “we’ve also decided to create our own police force under the (Alberta) Sheriffs.” That includes assigning them an increasing number of duties.Patience is wearing thin as Albertans await movement on a promised Alberta Pension Plan that would require leaving the CPP which is shortchanging the province billions of dollars.“So, she did move forward with that one. And then I think that there was pushback obviously from the opposition. But the big question mark is how much of our own money are we going to be able to get back from CPP? And until that question is answered, it's very, very hard to move forward on this. The public needs to be properly informed to make a decision and that's a huge variable, right.”“So, she has been falling back on that one. I agree, but I think rightly so … They have to get a firmer number of how much of our own money we're going to get back before moving forward. But at the end of the day, she's promised a referendum on it. I think she will deliver. But we need to get that question answered first for everybody right before we can have a proper referendum.”However, one of Smith’s first promises on the campaign trail was a tax cut for Albertans — as much as $1,500 per family — that hasn’t happened yet. Smith reasoned the government had to ensure any tax cut would not put Alberta into a deficit position.But it is not off the table. “Well, the big one, the big one is she promised to cut back provincial income tax.”“She has not followed through on every promise and that's an accurate statement.”And so, there are those who want her gone. But is it for personal reasons, perceived slights for not getting enough recognition or reward perhaps for having backed her?“That's basically it. She didn't throw a big enough parade, right?”“I suspect there is sort of an anti-leadership element. I expect there's more than one.”He pointed to the 1905 Committee, a harsh Smith opponent, thought to be fronted with cash from unknown contributors. It pushes for a provincial personal flat tax rate and an immediate Alberta Pension Plan.1905 also condemned Smith’s decision to appoint the extremely unpopular former premier Alison Redford to the board of directors of the Invest Alberta Corporation, a provincial Crown corporation that promotes the province as an investment destination.“Given her history of ethical lapses and the misuse of government resources, we believe that appointing Alison Redford to a position that promotes Alberta as an investment destination is both inappropriate and counterproductive,” reads 1905’s website.Nevertheless, the threat of infiltration at the AGM raised by The Counter Signal, poses little threat in Byfield's view.“We're going to have close to 5,000 if not more at this AGM. So, if he comes up with, you know, even 50 people, that's still a drop in the bucket really. I don't think Danielle really has much to worry about.”“I think that what's going on is all extremely healthy, right? There's always going to be people getting pushback to the leader as they should, right? That's what that's what a democracy is for. We're not here to stifle criticism.”“But they're not giving the whole picture. But you know, that's their prerogative. They are free to give partial picture like they are.”“The big picture is I think she's doing a stunning job. She definitely is listening to the general population and her membership. I think we're blessed to have premier like her, we really are.” Meanwhile UCP members are deciding what policy resolutions they’ll be voting to send to the floor at the AGM.The Western Standard obtained one that will surely ignite the woke left’s hair on fire but please most Albertans.The allegations raised by The Counter Signal about a “sophisticated plot to flood” the UCP AGM and overthrow Smith involved recruiting radical socialists who oppose her resistance to woke polices and protection of children and parental rights.Cam Davies, owner of Canadian Market Strategies which is the firm alleged to be at the centre of the allegations, denied them and has filed a defamation suit against The Counter Signal.Meanwhile, the (by-and-large) United Conservative Party under Danielle Smith is a formidable force to reckon with.

SLOBODIAN: Is now the time for all men of goodwill to come to the aid of the premier?

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