Wildrose Alliance has an identity crisis

The Wildrose Alliance, that right-wing alternative party in Alberta that everyone’s been clamouring about, has decided to move towards the political centre, surprising no one except Wildrose leader Danielle Smith.

But where they move to and how they define themselves will determine what the future holds for the nascent political party.

From the outset, they were flapping in the political wind, staking out positions to the right of the Tories in an attempt to steal disenfranchised Conservative supporters. It proved to be a deft move, as the political climate in Alberta has left many conservatives questioning their traditional support for Ed Stelmach and his gang of Progressive Conservatives.

But as their support has skyrocketed in the past year, they’ve often seemed uncertain what exactly to do with it.

Polls this year put the Wildrose party ahead of both the provincial Liberals and Conservatives, capturing 42 per cent of support in an Angus Reid poll from February. Now, with the addition of a fourth Wildrose MLA and polling support pushing them into majority territory, the party has taken a swift turn towards the centre of the political spectrum, where they are less dangerous, but also less likely to pick up seats in any upcoming election.

As a new party, they gained support by the simple fact of who they weren’t; they weren’t the Tories. People didn’t know exactly who they were, but they saw a right-of-centre party that hadn’t been in office for nearly four decades and flocked to them. But now voters — as well as members of the party — are asking “what is this bandwagon that we’ve jumped on?” The short answer: more of the same.

While the Wildrose Alliance’s views may differ slightly at the moment from that of the ruling Tories, it’s only a matter of time before that gap starts to narrow, as they try to gain legitimacy by shedding their small-party ideologies.

The party followed the script perfectly, ejecting a number of “controversial” policies at a convention at the end of June. They rejected a proposal arguing that firearm ownership is a form of property rights, and abandoned the idea of more nuclear power in the province.

It’s part of what party leader Smith said is a move towards “big-tent policies,” which in regular human speak means “we want to actually get elected and realize that wandering on the fringes of the political wilderness won’t help.” They’ve tasted power and they want to make sure no one turns off the spigot. Four MLAs in the Legislature means they are now the third largest party and gain official status, something even the New Democrats lack.

But in the end, what does this all mean for Albertans? Unfortunately, not much. We will now have two parties on the right fighting for our attention, while the left remains splintered.
In the short term, as the Wildrose continues to gain support and move to the right, they could pull more and more votes away from the Tories. But in the long term, things become more complicated; how will this new movement towards the centre affect Alberta politics?

It could mean the disintegration of the Wildrose Alliance as voters realize they are just getting more of the same. Or it could just as easily mean a complete reworking of the political map, as the Tories and the Wildrose split the vote, which would be a boon for the Liberals and NDP. Who would come out on top in that battle is murkier than an Alberta slough in October.