Alberta’s right isn’t looking very united

The struggle to unite Alberta’s Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties offers enough drama, backstabbing and bad actors to make a great reality television series.

The two sides are trying to pretend they get along before separate ratification votes on unification July 22.

But all is not going smoothly. Cracks are developing in the united facade, not only between the PCs and the Wildrose, but within the Wildrose itself.

The proposed merger is less like a marriage and more like a tug of war, with some members not sure in which direction to tug.

This week, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean suffered a public beating by his own party’s president, Jeff Callaway.

Callaway was upset over how Jean is naming his own people to four different joint WildrosePC committees that will oversee issues such as the rules for the upcoming leadership race (presuming both parties vote for unification).

On Monday, Callaway complained to the Calgary Sun that Jean was gaming the system to give himself an edge.

“We are more than just the Brian Jean party,” said Callaway. “The party exists for the sake of Alberta, not for the sake of the leader.”

Callaway said some members were so upset by Jean’s selfserving manoeuvring they were thinking of voting against the merger.

“This is the potential poison pill that could kill the deal,” said Callaway.

Wow.

I have to admit, though, to being a bit confused by Callaway’s attack.

If members were so upset by Jean’s tactic, I’m not sure how sinking the merger would help them. They would be left with Jean as leader of their party.

Anyway, Jean was understandably upset by Callaway’s comments and returned fire.

Jean pointed out it was not him but representatives of both parties in May who had laid out the protocols that gave him and PC Leader Jason Kenney the power to unilaterally appoint members to the new unification panels.

However, to mollify Callaway and party grumblers, Jean gave the Wildrose executive committee a list of 19 appointees he wants to sit on the four joint unification panels.

And you know what? Every one of the executive members — including party president Callaway — supported Jean’s choices.

“That was fantastic for Brian to go with that process,” Callaway said in an interview Friday. “I want to commend Brian.”

There is something curious about Callaway publicly criticizing Jean on Monday for naming people, but then on Wednesday enthusiastically supporting Jean for naming those same people.

Some Wildrose officials are quietly seething about Callaway’s tactics, saying it looked like he was deliberately and unfairly undermining Jean’s credibility in advance of a leadership race.

Callaway insists he was not being disloyal: “To be clear, I was just reflecting what I was hearing from some of our constituency associations.”

It’s like watching an episode of Survivor, but with fewer alliances and more alligators.

Lost in the coverage was what was happening over at PC headquarters. I mean, how will Kenney go about naming PC representatives to the interim unification panels?

On Thursday, Kenney issued a Facebook statement saying he will canvass party members for interested people, set up a nomination committee, and let the PC board of directors choose the candidates. He was implying he’d be more democratic than Jean.

Kenney also couldn’t resist taking a more direct shot at his prospective dance partner by blaming the Wildrose (a.k.a. Jean) for insisting on a tentative deal last month that helped create the kind of confusion and controversy we saw inside the Wildrose this week.

The struggle to create the United Conservative Party just keeps getting more interesting by the day.

And to think, the ratification votes are still five weeks away.