Tim Hudak’s high noon comes in the early afternoon this Saturday, when Tory delegates debate whether to humiliate him by holding yet another review of his leadership.

But the showdown will be a sideshow.

On cue, Tories will almost certainly rally to Hudak at their London convention, rejecting any unscheduled review of their leader at what is supposed to be a convention about policy — not personalities. The real show will come after the weekend, as the opposition Progressive Conservatives try to remake themselves as a government in waiting.

For now, though, the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition has disloyalty on his mind.

Dissatisfaction over his leadership has bubbled over in London, the site of a stunning byelection defeat this summer that left locals seething. Determined to call Hudak to account, dissidents have bulldozed their way onto the convention floor despite behind-the-scenes appeals for party unity.

Dissent has also come from within his Queen’s Park caucus. In the run-up to the convention, Hudak has played disciplinarian by demoting two MPPs who publicly contradicted him (a third is in the doghouse).

But for all the bad press, there will be no Tory regicide this weekend. Most MPPs and delegates believe it’s pointless, at this point in time, to decapitate the party.

They worry the minority Liberal government could call an election at any time, catching the Tories off guard if they are leaderless. Nor is there any obvious saviour waiting in the wings.

The more interesting question is what direction the Tories take once Hudak shakes off the plotting in the shadows. When it comes to policies, the PC leader is an open book.

Fourteen open books, in fact. Ever since his 2011 election defeat, and his reconfirmation as leader early last year (he won a robust 78.7 per cent support, for all the good it did him), Hudak has rolled out a series of 14 policy papers.

Dressed up as so-called White Papers, these non-binding discussion documents cover every possible topic at Queen’s Park. They were written with an eye to provoking debate, grabbing headlines and eliciting donations.

One of the earliest papers, written by now-demoted labour critic Randy Hillier, is an anti-union polemic that would undermine basic labour laws requiring compulsory union dues. Another paper calls for the partial privatization of the major government-owned hydro utilities.

Hudak’s open book approach marks a departure from Changebook, the faddish title of his 2011 campaign platform that was derided for its focus-tested approach — trying to be all things to all people. Changebook didn’t change many minds, because people didn’t know what the Tories truly had in mind for Ontario.

Now, Hudak has laid out much of his thinking in those White Papers for the party’s consideration, if not necessarily adoption. He deserves credit for learning from the mistakes of his 2011 campaign by opening up the policy debate and taking some risks. Some of the ideas may be over the top, but at least he put them out there.

That said, they are unlikely to occupy centre stage when the platform is eventually cobbled together. Even this weekend, few of the most controversial proposals will be found in the 24 earnest policy resolutions to be debated by delegates in London.

Most of them are perennials, calling for enhanced trade and better health care. There are also predictable crowd-pleasers such as allowing beer and wine in grocery stores, letting municipalities block wind turbines, and lowering income taxes.

None of these convention resolutions will be binding on the leader. Nor will Hudak be bound by the White Papers as his campaign team opts for a winning formula.

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But no matter what the final campaign platform looks like — whether an updated Changebook or a dialed down Commonsense Revolution — the White Papers have already served a purpose. They are non-binding — even illuminating — but very much on the public record.

No one will be able to accuse Hudak of hiding his inner thoughts. Or harbouring any hidden right-wing agendas.