He opens the door. Where it goes no one knows.

It’s not like any official talks between the Wildrose and the PCs are happening or planned. Yet.

But Wildrose leader Brian Jean opens the door to all options to unite Alberta conservatives, including a brand new party.

It is a bold move but many of the conservative stripe feel they need to move boldly.

After all, their nightmare, the one they figured could never come to life, is suddenly oh-so-real and very much in their face.

Some sorts still can’t say the NDP are running the government of Alberta without expressing a sense of disbelief and gagging.

But the NDP are running the show.

Wildrose leader Jean heads down to Calgary Wednesday night for a party fundraiser with 600-plus in the room.

Unlike the vast majority of fundraisers for the vast majority of political parties the Wildrose leader comes down with a questionnaire.

That’s right.

This questionnaire asks attendees how much they agree or disagree with 10 statements.

One catches the eye right away.

Wildrose and PCs should create a new party to bring the members of both parties together. Wow.

Another. Wildrose should merge with the PCs.

Still another. Wildrose should rebrand and change its name to make it easier to get all small-c conservatives to join it.

Jean is talking to a Calgary crowd.

If there’s one place where the PCs were not swept away it is in this city. The survivors of the death of Toryland still hold six city seats.

In Wednesday’s speech, Jean admits to “a bit of a situation.” The NDP.

He mentions the defections of the Wildrose members of the legislature to the government side.

The sleazy move backfired on the PCs, casting themselves as backroom wheeler dealers trying to kill off the official opposition and then call a quickie election.

And it hurt the Wildrose, who had to get up off the mat after being stabbed in the back and fight that election.

We all know the election results. Voters KOed the Toryland dynasty, kept Wildrose as the official opposition and put Rachel Notley and her NDP in power.

So here we are.

Jean has the pulse of many Calgarians when he identifies a solution. Unite the right.

“I hear clearly. Bury the hatchet. I agree. I agree,” says Jean, then cautioning it’s “far more complicated” to get it done.

But he also says if there’s agreement on what people believe and what they want done in government “we can put together a party all conservatives can support.”

Jean says Wildrose associations in each riding will offer to hold joint meetings with local PCs to “talk about the principles and policies which might unite us.”

He is also encouraging Wildrose elected politicians to talk to the PC organization in their riding “with a goal of finding and cultivating common ground.”

“We’ve spent far too much time fighting old battles and settling old scores and not nearly enough time talking about the many things we agree on,” says Jean.

“Wildrose will not be accused of not trying to reach out. We may not find a willing dance partner but we do have our dancing shoes on.”

It is not all sweetness and light.

Jean bets “no matter what happens there will be some stubborn folks at the top of the PC structure that hold on to the bitter end” and keep the PC name on the ballot in the 2019 election.

But the Wildrose No. 1 says the future of the PCs is “very much up in the air” and a “dire financial situation” could be their end.

Derek Fildebrandt, a Wildrose frontbencher and unapologetic political scrapper, says conservatives want “the conversation to broaden the big right tent.”

“Everything grassroots small-c conservatives want on the table will be on the table,” says Fildebrandt.

“People are thinking big. Our members are asking us to think big.”

What does Fildebrandt think of the questionnaire?

“These are real questions. These are not puffball questions.

“This is a real serious rethink.”