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Politicking — like sausage-making — is ugly business. With apologies to the late Otto von Bismarck for messing with his famous quote about laws and sausages, “it’s better not to see them being made”.

That, however, is what has happened with the so-called “kamikaze candidate” scandal — a.k.a. the “stalking horse” scandal — swirling around the United Conservative Party.

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A large document dump of private emails shows that Jason Kenney’s UCP leadership team worked very closely with Jeff Callaway’s leadership team in 2017 to come up with strategies, talking points, graphics and videos so that Callaway could target Kenney’s main leadership rival, Brian Jean, making it possible for Kenney to remain above the fray.

In an effort to appear as though the Kenney team didn’t engage in dirty politics, it engaged in dirty politics. It’s hypocritical and unsavoury.

Is it enough, however, to help Premier Rachel Notley’s unpopular NDP government — which is way behind in recent polls — to hold onto power when Albertans vote on April 16? That will be the key question over the 28 days of the election campaign that Notley launched Tuesday.