Alberta's Premier, Ralph Klein, who was almost handed his walking papers last nite by the party faithful when he received only 55% support at the Progressive Conservative's convention, stated Saturday that he will meet with his caucus and will announce his future plans "mid week".It's quite possible that he will simply remain the same old stubborn Ralph who will decide to stay on as a lame duck Premier until his previously announced retirement date of October, 2007. However, the message sent by his party indicates that many would prefer not to have such a long leadership race because it could politically destabilize the government and the province.
Although the latest polls showed that Klein's support in Alberta was 70%, it is quite likely that his popularity numbers will also drop now as more supporters may feel emboldened by the convention results to start looking at other leadership candidates while finally publicly admitting that Klein needs to go. Until now, it seemed too early to start thinking about who may hold the party's leadership in the future, but Klein's retirement announcement has fueled that speculation to his disadvantage. He finds himself between a rock and a very hard place indeed. Will he place the party first or himself? Stay tuned.
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