The big deal

An interesting local take on the Alliance, Tory merger plan
By DELON SHURTZ
Lethbridge Herald

Any merger, whether it's a marriage or joining two political parties, is all
about compromise, but the Canadian Alliance has given up a lot more than the
Conservatives to unite the right, says a Lethbridge political scientist.

"I think it's safe to say that the Alliance, if not capitulated, certainly
conceded many points, if not all of the points, in order to get this deal
worked out," Faron Ellis said Thursday.

Ellis said it's interesting that even though the Alliance negotiated from a
position of strength -- 63 seats in the House of Commons versus the Tory's 15
-- the party treated the Tories as an equal partner in the merger.

"When it came to compromising, the Alliance did the vast majority of the
compromising on this arrangement, and we'll see if the members will accept it."

Lethbridge Alliance MP Rick Casson believes the majority of constituents in his
riding will accept the new party, despite some grumbling. He said a straw poll
of his constituents indicated the vast majority wanted the two parties to work
out a deal.

"This historic moment puts the interests of Canadians ahead of any political
party and any individual politician," Casson said.

He said he will support the new leader, whoever he is, as long as he is chosen
democratically. His first choice, however, is Alliance Leader Stephen Harper.

"I'll be encouraging Stephen Harper to run as leader of the new party. I think
he's the right man to take on the job."

Casson doesn't agree with political analysts who suggest neither Harper nor
Tory Leader Peter MacKay should lead the new party because it would make it
look like an old party. Neither does he give too much credit to polls which
suggest a new party still can't defeat the Liberal Party, which has about 45
per cent of voter support.

Casson said by the time the new party is organized and Canadians see it as a
viable alternative to the Liberal Party, voters will "come out in the millions"
to support it.

Bill Glover, president of the Lethbridge Canadian Alliance Constituency
Association, said he's in favour of the merger, despite some reservations.

"I think we had to do something," Glover said.

He admits, however, he has concerns about whether some of the original Reform
Party's core values and principles will be preserved as the two parties go
through the merging process.

Ellis believes the next major challenge will be establishing the new party as a
viable opposition to the Liberals, before the Liberals have time to trash it. A
new leader won't be elected until March and a policy convention likely won't be
held until after that, giving the Liberals plenty of time to plant seeds of
discontent before the Conservative Party of Canada can prove its worth.

"Do they have the opportunity to fill in the great unknowns about this party
positively before the Liberals fill them in negatively?" Ellis said.

In the meantime, Casson will be working on his own campaign. He has been
nominated to run for the member of parliament in Lethbridge for the new party.

Glover had hoped Alliance MPs across the country could simply keep their jobs
under the Conservative Party of Canada, but part of the merger deal stipulates
there must be local elections.

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