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Premier Jason Kenney says a government that takes strong action against spending can expect a drop in popularity.

It’s true, but rarely like this — not a sudden plunge in approval on every key issue, including trust.

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Marc Henry’s ThinkHQ poll comes after two others, from Angus Reid and Dart, that showed a serious weakening of support for the UCP.

Polls can be wrong. Even two in a row can be wrong. But when yet another comes up with similar findings, it’s time for the old three-strikes metaphor.

Fifty-three per cent of Albertans now disapprove of UCP performance, Henry’s poll says. Only 44 per cent approve.

Those numbers have almost reversed since October, when 56 per cent approved, and 39 per cent didn’t.

More trouble lies deeper in the numbers.

Only 16 per cent strongly approve of the UCP. Thirty-eight per cent strongly disapprove.

Emotion is always a key factor in politics. The UCP has ridden anti-NDP anger for two years. Now, Alberta’s powerful emotional currents could be turning against the government.