A would-be contender for the leadership of Alberta’s new conservative party has ruled out throwing his hat into the ring.
United Conservative Party MLA Derek Fildebrandt had been widely expected to join former PC leader Jason Kenney, former Wildrose leader Brian Jean and conservative strategist Doug Schweitzer in seeking the leadership of the new party.
But he said, despite being approached by many party members, he has decided not to seek the leadership. Instead, he’ll plan to spend the next two months focusing on the United Liberty Foundation, a group he hopes will push for fiscal conservatism and individual liberties.
“I see a vacuum on the policy side, I see a vacuum in terms of a focus right now on trying to focus on the ideas and policies of the new party,” he said.
Fildebrandt said he has spent the past two years lobbying for a merger of the two parties and now he wants to build the new party into “a vehicle for ideas, not just power.”
Kenney said last week he would not release a platform during the leadership campaign and would leave it up to party members to determine what positions the UCP would take in the next provincial election.
Fildebrandt, the Brooks-Strathmore representative, said he will remain neutral while candidates campaign for the UCP’s top position, but his old Wildrose boss is not qualified for the job.
“I don’t even know where to begin, there’s a lot [of reasons],” Fildebrandt said.
“I want a leader who is going to focus on building a party and building a team and not just promoting themselves and their own personal brand. And just from what I’ve seen, a lack of team building, a lack of focusing on the broader party.”
In 2015, Fildebrandt endorsed Jean while he was still running to lead the Wildrose.
