Aided by oil industry frustration over the Premier's handling of the
royalty file, the Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta was formed on Saturday in
Calgary from the union of two right-wing parties -- the Alberta Alliance and the
upstart Wildrose Party.
Paul Hinman, the new party's leader and its only
elected MLA, said he would "throw the whole thing out" and restore a
free-enterprise, conservative-minded provincial government in Edmonton.
"We have three socialist parties who are all saying that if we tax and
take away from the most successful industries, we are going to make our
communities better," Mr. Hinman, 49, said in an interview. "We are for a
free-market economy. We are for smaller government, not bigger government."
That's music to the ears of the province's oilmen, some of whom are
aiding the party financially.