Jason Kenney's capitulation as UCP leader is a catalyst for more chaos in Alberta politics
CBC
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney fell on his own sword rather than be repeatedly stabbed in the back for the next year.
Actually, it's not clear if Kenney voluntarily exited the top position or was pushed by senior members of the United Conservative Party who wanted the endless infighting over his leadership to stop.
And that fighting was not going to end with a vote Wednesday evening that gave Kenney a razor-thin victory of 51.4 per cent to 48.6 per cent.
Keep in mind Kenney has insisted for months he'd be satisfied with getting the most simple of majorities: 50 per cent of the vote plus one ballot.
And with Kenney's track record of ignoring critics and brazening through tough times, it seemed very likely he'd do that again, even with the tiniest of mandates.
Just a few days ago, as he took something of a victory lap in Washington D.C. for being invited to speak to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy, Kenney told the reporters he didn't need overwhelming support to stay on as party leader.
It seemed Kenney was beginning to parse the vote days in advance, looking for ways to justify why he would stay on.
He argued that a significant number of new party members were nothing more than political malcontents using the leadership vote to create trouble for him and the UCP.
He said it was unfair to compare his own leadership review with those of other Alberta premiers, including Ralph Klein who received a humiliating 55 per cent in 2006 and stepped down as party leader and premier soon after.
"This is a totally different dynamic," said Kenney. "People who are saying (I have) to get, say, 90 per cent or something (similar) really aren't appreciating the different context of this."
It was certainly a different context — one created by an unprecedented pandemic, a health system at times on the verge of collapse, disastrously low oil prices, a rebellious caucus, and a profound unhappiness by a majority of Albertans over his mishandling of the multiple crises.
Kenney, whose default setting seems chronically stuck on hubris, became his own worst enemy.
But he is nothing if not stubborn.
He seemed ready to brazen his way through once again even if the bravado was based on nothing but a one-ballot majority.
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