95.9% of Alliance voters agree to merger (Globe and Mail)

An overwhelming 95.9 per cent of Canadian Alliance members have voted in favour of merging their party with the Progressive Conservatives.

A jubilant Stephen Harper, the Alliance Leader, announced the results of his party's ratification vote, conducted by mail-in ballots, in Ottawa on Friday.

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031205.walli1205/BNStory/National/

They'll do anything for the tiniest sniff of power, wouldn't they?

"About 53,315 ballots of more than 90,000 were returned by members, he said."

The rest seem to be trickling away. Same with the Tories.

I think we'll see some surprising shifts yet. :D

took out PC memberships, and will have their votes counted tomorrow.

I'll be sad to see the passing of the federal PC - the party of Diefenbaker and Stansfield - but at the same time I'm rubbing my hands with glee at the strategic value a "united right" should mean for the NDP in 2004, especially if Harper is the "new" leader.

voted in both, but yeah the PCs will go for it too.

Anything to try and get out of the polling basement they've both been in for years.

It'll be interesting to see if we get a new 'Progressives' party out of this...debt free and with a new leader, and a rump old style Reform again.

So we end up with 4 parties instead of 1.

NDP are doing well out of this, and so of course are the Liberals.

in yesterday's Globe?

"He added that it doesn't matter if the merger means a mass exodus of Progressive Conservatives.

"'Let them go,' he said. He said what will be left of the party will be those who want to build on a Conservative party based on its mainstream values.

"Mr. Orchard said he is confident that he and others could rebuild what is left of the party and begin anew, calling it a 'purification by fire.'"
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031204.worchard1204/BNStory/Front/

Orchard almost seems to welcome the merger, because he'll be left to pick up the pieces of the old party. It's the only way he'll become leader: everyone opposed to him leaves.

Folks like Enver Hoxha (or even a union strike vote) should be so luck to have this level of conformity...

Let's face it, IF Alliance was a real political party, there would have been some opposition...95% support for anything in a democracy is scary sign of control and confromism...

The Pro-Alliance media out west will report this as 'massive' support for a 'united right' and confuse/'spin out' the fact that two polls came out this week showing that the Alliance/PC (inspite of new leaders and extra 'merger' coverage) is bottom feeding in the polls big time.

The galling part about them is the constant appeal to the so-called fact, 'Canada needs an Opposition and a viable two party system'...there is one and neither of these parties have been able in over 13 years to take advantage of a 'natural' oppositional role where it counts...in an election...

Off the shelf and into the toilet...