Olds Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper says Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean isn't forcing any Progressive Conservatives (PCs) to join his party; just suggesting they think about it for the good of conservatism.
Last week, Jean suggested the Wildrose Party and Progressive Conservatives join forces to defeat the leftist New Democratic Party which won last May's provincial election, ending about 44 years of Progressive Conservative rule in the province.
“I guess ultimately, that's going to be up to the memberships of both organizations,” Cooper, the Wildrose Party's house leader, said during an interview with the Albertan.
Cooper made a veiled reference to last December, when several Wildrose Party members – including then-leader Danielle Smith – crossed the floor to sit with the ruling conservatives.
“There haven't been backroom negotiations that we saw last year and all of a sudden it's like, ‘surprise, here we go,'” Cooper said.
“Brian has just said, ‘we need to talk about this.' At the event last week, he didn't say, ‘I think we should merge,' ‘I think we should have a new party,' ‘I think you should all join the Wildrose.' He just said, ‘let's have a conversation about what's best for Alberta.”
“He's ready to dance, but whether or not he has a dancing partner, we're not sure,” Cooper added.
Political analysts say it may be tough for the Wildrose Party and Progressive Conservatives to join forces because the Wildrose Party was formed by people who felt the PCs had strayed too far from traditional conservative values, including fiscal prudence.
The Wildrose Party has been viewed by some in the Progressive Conservative party to be too far to the right.
Cooper is not so sure the two parties can't join forces – that PCs or their supporters can't find a home with Wildrose Party members.
“It's tough to know. I mean, I know there are a lot of people who are centre/right who may have had a bit of a gutful with the PCs and are now are very frustrated with the far left government that we have,” he said.
“I think they, like many, were hoping they would govern centre/left, and they were wrong.”
"I know there are a lot of people who are centre/right who may have had a bit of a gutful with the PCs and are now are very frustrated with the far left government that we have. I think they, like many, were hoping they would govern centre/left, and they were wrong."NATHAN COOPEROLDS-DIDSBURY-THREE HILLS MLA
