The Alberta Progressive Conservatives have managed to avoid a prolonged internal feud. As of Tuesday, Premier Ed Stelmach's announcement of his future resignation at an indefinite date had raised the prospect that there would be a long goodbye reminiscent of the situation that aggravated the rivalry between Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin.
The resignation of Ted Morton as finance minister has more or less cleared the air, together with his announcement that he will seek the Conservative Party leadership as Mr. Stelmach's successor.
Mr. Morton had evidently wanted to balance the next budget of Alberta, while Mr. Stelmach saw fit to continue the fiscal deficit for another year. Although Mr. Morton has now left the cabinet, he will still vote for the government's budget. It would not have made sense for him to present to the legislature a budget he disagreed with, or argue publicly and vigorously in its favour. Yet the brinksmanship of this conflict so soon before the budget was expected is discreditable. And the intimations about this disagreement amount to breaches of the principle of cabinet solidarity.
Many Albertans who would otherwise vote for the right-wing Wildrose Alliance may well be drawn back to the Conservatives if Mr. Morton becomes the leader. His proposed union with the Alliance may not be feasible, but it is a shrewd tactical gesture. In Alberta, the serious threats to the governing party are apt to come from the right, but there is now some fluidity at the centre of the spectrum, where the new Alberta Party is competing with the Liberals. In the coming leadership race, now likely to be resolved in or before the summer, the Conservatives will have to decide whether to protect their left or their right flank.
Mr. Stelmach's and Mr. Morton's joint announcement on Thursday helps remove suspicions of a coup d'état attempt. The Conservatives have a renewed chance not to tear themselves apart.