Article content continued

Barnes, the MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat, said he will make his own decision whether to run in the next week or so.

He said he wouldn’t second-guess the party executive on Anders and said he had no worries about a June leadership vote, even if it does come after a spring vote.

“I think June 6 is a good pick and that gives us time to go out and engage Albertans,” said Barnes, one of five remaining Wildrose caucus members.

Barnes said the party will be ready if an election is called but former Wildrose leader Paul Hinman, who is seeking the party’s nomination again in Cardston-Taber-Warner, said it has been left in a tough spot.

“Prentice gets to call (an election). We’re on our back and our belly is exposed and he wants to take full advantage of that,” he said.

Hinman said that if the writ is dropped in March, there is no way Wildrose could get a leader in place by that point.

He said he argued for a September leadership vote to give more time for the party to rebuild and Prentice to face the consequences of potentially unpopular tax hikes and spending cuts.

Pollster and political analyst Janet Brown expects the Wildrose leadership committee and executive considered all possible scenarios for having a new leader able to fight a spring election, only to find them logistically impossible.

But she said the party will be at a big disadvantage if it has no permanent leader during a campaign.

“It’s a strange situation,” said Brown.

“The thing is, the leader is so important in defining what a party is, that it’s going to be hard for voters to really know for sure they understand the Wildrose and whether they should or shouldn’t be voting for them.”

Brown said one positive sign for Wildrose is the number of candidates who have expressed interest in running for the party’s top job.

The cut-off date for entering the Wildrose race is a month ahead of the vote. Wildrose has set a $30,000 limit on donations, the same amount used in last year’s Tory leadership race that selected Prentice.

jwood@calgaryherald.com

Twitter.com/JamesWoodHerald