EDMONTON - Alberta Progressive Conservative MLA Richard Starke won't say if he believes leadership race rules will spike a bid by MP Jason Kenney to dissolve the party as part of a merger with the Wildrose.
But Starke says, regardless, he believes the next leader will respect and exemplify the values of the party.
Kenney has already announced he will run for the leadership on a platform to seek a merger with the Wildrose party and form a new conservative coalition to defeat Premier Rachel Notley's NDP government.
But at its spring annual general meeting, PC rank and file voted overwhelmingly to rebuild the party as a stand-alone entity rather than merge it with another political group.
The rules of the leadership race, announced this past weekend, forbid leadership candidates from doing anything to harm the party or its brand.
Starke says he is seriously considering making a run.
