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In a boiling universe of hot gas, new bodies will form. That may not be a cosmic law, but it works in Alberta politics.

By next Saturday we should know if the PCs and Wildrose have decided to merge into one United Conservative Party.

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The PCs will vote over three days, from July 20 to 22. Wildrose votes Saturday, within a one-day window.

The gases emitted by this project have been superheated for a full year. “This is a runaway train with no brakes,” says one Jason Kenney loyalist, with lyrical hyperbole.

But will the UCP be the only newcomer in the constellation? Not likely.

Both entities chasing union are fraying at the edges. It’s entirely possible that by 2019, the UCP will be flanked by challengers in the centre and on the right.

On Friday, a longtime PC activist named Patty Wickstrom resigned as the party’s official secretary, effective immediately.

In an email to party people, she said, “It is no secret that I have been opposed to the direction of unity with the Wildrose and the leader’s disrespect for the will of the members to rebuild the PCAA, but rather brought in others to support his vision of unity.