The latest polls show that if an election were held today the Conservatives would come first with 38% of the vote. The Wildrose Alliance, fresh from winning the Calgary-Glenmore byelection, have rocketed up to 22%. The Liberals are at 21%, the NDP are at 11%, and the other parties are at 8%. Note that the combination of the Liberal, NDP, and former Green Party vote would vault them into first place.

I would like to point out that Alberta is not moving right. Conservative voters are fleeing to the Wildrose Alliance.

It is now more clear than ever that the left has to unite in this right leaning province. The Liberals, NDP, and former Greens must combine forces to create a viable opposition. Why further split the left? It reminds me of the Rick Mercer spoof about how the Marxist-Leninists and the Communist Party are further splitting the marginal vote. This has to stop.

I know the Marxist-Leninists and Communists have some differences, much like the Liberals, NDP, and Greens do. But lets put this into perspective, they have a lot more in common than they do with the Conservatives or the Wildrose Alliance. What is preventing a merger?

First of all, the dinosaurs who hold key positions in all three of these parties must be removed. They are clinging onto their last vestiges power. They are clinging onto nothing.

Most important of all, the creditors of the Liberal Party must take a back seat. I attended a few 'unite the left forums' a little while back. What I learned stunned me. The people most resistant to unification were the Liberal creditors.

The largest obstacle preventing a unified party is Liberal creditors, who are afraid of losing their money. The Liberals were forced to borrow from party supporters because the banks deemed them as too much of a credit risk. These lenders knew that their loan was a risky one and should have to eat some of their profits in order to move politics forward here in Alberta.  

Unless the Liberal creditors accept different loan terms, we will continue to see an assault on our health care system, inadequate social services and supports, hundreds of millions of dollars wasted on carbon capture (rather than investing in wind or solar), and the continued rape of our environment.

The stakes are high. The Wildrose Alliance is a re-incarnation of the Reform Party. Unless we want to see more privatization of our health care and education system, and even more laissez-faire booms and busts, the Liberals, Greens, and NDP have to grow up and start working together for the sake of Alberta.

By combining forces, the left wouldn’t even have to pander or shift to the right to win the next election. At the very least they would become a strong opposition party. In reality a combined party would shift a bit to the left to compromise with the NDP and Greens. Such an opposition party would provide a viable alternative. Isn’t that what democracy is all about?