{"id":344300,"date":"2021-09-23T17:43:40","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T14:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/jason-kenneys-days-may-be-numbered-erin-otooles-too\/"},"modified":"2021-09-23T17:43:40","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T14:43:40","slug":"jason-kenneys-days-may-be-numbered-erin-otooles-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/jason-kenneys-days-may-be-numbered-erin-otooles-too\/","title":{"rendered":"#Jason Kenney’s days may be numbered. Erin O’Toole’s too."},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Jason Kenney’s days may be numbered. Erin O’Toole’s too.<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Politics Insider for Sept. 23, 2021: The UCP is not united; the Tories toy with a bad idea; and the ballot counting continues\n <\/div>\n
\n Welcome to a sneak peek of the <\/em>Maclean\u2019s Politics Insider news<\/a>letter. Sign up to get it delivered straight to your inbox in the morning. <\/em><\/p>\n

Looks doomed:<\/strong> The well-connected Licia Corbella<\/strong>, columnist for the Calgary Herald<\/em>, writes<\/a> Wednesday of behind-the-scenes manoeuvres designed to get Jason Kenney<\/strong> out of the premier\u2019s office, given that health and political crises in his province make his position untenable.<\/p>\n

According to government insiders who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Kenney is beginning to realize that he cannot hold onto his job as premier<\/strong>, but wants to hold off making any political moves that leads to an expedited leadership review for fear of who will gain control<\/strong> of the party he worked so hard to form and lead.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Corbella describes a government struggling to cope with a difficult situation, largely because so many UCP supporters refuse to accept restrictions or vaccine mandates.<\/p>\n

Another government source said that ironically, a couple of UCP riding officials are in hospital battling for their lives over COVID-19\u2014a disease that they had denied even existed\u2014though he refused to say who they are. \u201cIf they weren\u2019t in hospital fighting for their lives, they\u2019d be calling on Jason to step down for bringing in vaccine passports,\u201d said the source.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Review:<\/strong> Later in the day, CBC reported<\/a> that Kenney will face a leadership review. A motion challenging his leadership was raised but then dropped at a caucus meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

There had been some expectations of a confidence vote. MLA Searle Turton<\/strong> says there was no such vote at the meeting. \u2026 \u201cI mean, obviously it\u2019s a brute and bashing group of MLAs, but that\u2019s what caucus is for, having those frank conversations, and I\u2019m thankful that we had that ability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the Herald <\/em>Wednesday morning, veteran columnist Don Braid<\/strong> described<\/a> a party in open rebellion, not just from anti-vaxxers but \u201call sides of Kenney\u2019s party and caucus.\u201d<\/p>\n

This wave of opposition to Kenney stems mainly from the epic error of declaring Alberta \u201cOpen for Summer\u201d<\/strong>, then standing by while the virus spread, and finally imposing another round of\u00a0quickly planned measures last week<\/a>. The delays have crashed the health system. Twenty-nine people died Monday.\u00a0Alberta is begging Ottawa<\/a>\u00a0and other provinces for help. \u201cWe in the party hit the end of the line last Wednesday,\u201d says Joel Mullan<\/strong>, policy vice-president of Kenney\u2019s UCP. \u201cWe were already right on the edge at the start of September but last Wednesday was it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Knives out for O\u2019Toole:<\/strong> Kenney isn\u2019t the only conservative facing a leadership threat. On Wednesday morning, the Hill Times<\/em> reported that a member of the CPC national council had launched a petition<\/a> to take out\u00a0Erin O\u2019Toole<\/strong>. The councillor, Bert Chen<\/strong>, describes<\/a> O\u2019Toole as a flipflopper. His petition<\/a>\u00a0had fewer than 1,500 signatures by Wednesday evening.
No CIMS:<\/strong> On Wednesday afternoon, the Star<\/em> reported<\/a> that the party had locked down CIMS, the party database, to stop anyone organizing against the leader. A party spokesman said it was a routine matter, but a CPC MP told the Star<\/em> it was aimed at shutting down petitions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs we speak, our sign teams are out there collecting yard signs that were distributed, and we just lost all of our data,\u201d said one re-elected Conservative MP, speaking to the Star on the condition they not be named. \u201cAnd the reason they\u2019ve done that is now they\u2019re worried about people being able to verify if those signing petitions against the leader are members (of the party) or not \u2026 They want to be the only ones to determine if these petitions are valid.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

China question:<\/strong> In the National Post<\/em>, Tom Blackwell<\/strong> has an\u00a0interesting story<\/a> on a defeated Conservative candidate who wonders if proxies for the Chinese government influenced the election.<\/p>\n

\nBad idea:<\/strong> In Maclean\u2019s<\/em>, Jen Gerson<\/strong> has a well-argued and funny column telling Tory plotters to get a damned grip.<\/p>\n
\n

First, let\u2019s talk about expectations. The Liberals called an early election on the back of promising polling numbers in the hopes of securing a majority government. They failed. Six weeks ago, if you told the Tory braintrust that the election would result in an outcome almost hilariously identical to the one it left behind, most would have been delighted.\u00a0 Conservatives have a bad habit. They go into an election with reasonable expectations, enjoy some early momentum, and then let the excitement get to their heads.<\/strong> They reset those early expectations to something far less probable, and when the campaign produces exactly the results they predicted at the outset they declare the whole affair a disapp<\/a>ointing failure.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0To the left:<\/strong> Your correspondent argues that O\u2019Toole had no choice but to move his party to the left given that the country appears to be moving that way.<\/p>\n

Another view:<\/strong> In the Western Standard<\/em>, Michael Wagner<\/strong> argues that<\/a>\u00a0O\u2019Toole betrayed true Conservatives with his Red Toryism.<\/p>\n

The Red Tory strategy of moving the Conservative Party to the left didn\u2019t work out as intended<\/strong> by its proponents. It is in much the same electoral position as it was before. Being more like the Liberals didn\u2019t win many votes in Toronto. Abandoning conservative principles wasn\u2019t the path to victory after all. All Canadians got was a Liberal government with a liberal opposition<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mostly white:<\/strong> The Conservative caucus is 95 per cent white, CBC reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sad Max:<\/strong> Unsuccessful People\u2019s Party party leader Maxime Bernier<\/strong>, angered by emails from journalists asking about his party\u2019s links to racist, far-right supporters, lashed out<\/a> on Wednesday by publishing contact info for journalists on Twitter<\/a> and denouncing them. Bernier has often<\/a> been<\/a> linked to<\/a> extremists<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Troubling:<\/strong> Writing for Global, David Moscrop<\/strong> has a thoughtful article<\/a>\u00a0about the rise of the PPC, \u201ca rallying point for extremists who existed before it did, but who now have an organizational anchor and home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The essential question to ask about the PPC isn\u2019t whether it cost the Conservatives votes and seats\u2014yes and probably. The essential questions to ask about the PPC are what sort of behaviour the party is enabling, what sort of people is it organizing and coordinating<\/strong>, and what that means for the country\u2019s political ecosystem and those who live in it. When angry, distrustful, disaffected, hateful people rally together, you can expect trouble. It\u2019s therefore incumbent on us to assess the far-right movement, refuse to normalize it, track it closely, and work to neutralize it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Still counting:<\/strong> Elections Canada is still tallying mail-in ballots, CP reports<\/a>, but some results are being finalized. Ex-Green Jenica Atwin<\/a> is in.\u00a0Yves Perron<\/strong> bested<\/a>\u00a0Ruth Ellen Brosseau<\/strong>.\u00a0Randy Boissonnault\u2019s <\/strong>opponent<\/a> conceded. <\/strong>Other races will have to wait until today, likely.<\/p>\n

Job well done:<\/strong> Steve Murphy<\/strong>, the iconic ATV anchor who grilled O\u2019Toole effectively during the recent campaign, and many many other politicians over the years, is stepping aside<\/a>\u00a0after a great career.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Stephen Maher<\/strong>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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