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ANALYSIS

CALGARY — Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is whip-smart and jolly, a passionate urbanist with an impressive resume and a talent for the soundbite. Now that Rob Ford is a mere Toronto city councillor, Mr. Nenshi is perhaps Canada’s best-known mayor — and likely the most popular.

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But a donnybrook over the last 10 days with city councillors over allegations of alcohol abuse have revealed he is less in command at city hall.

To get most anything done, Mr. Nenshi needs to find support from among 14 other city councillors. And it’s in these relationships that the mayor’s weaknesses have started to become apparent.

“His leadership skills definitely need improvement,” said first-term Ward 1 councillor Ward Sutherland, one of a slew of right-leaning politicians finding themselves increasingly at odds with Calgary’s popular chief magistrate.

Last week, during a committee debate on stricter guidelines on alcohol consumption for councillors, Councillor Druh Farrell began telling tales of “wild parties” gone awry, and workplace tipples.