Tory organizer blames ABC campaign for party's woes

A top Conservative organizer in Newfoundland and Labrador candidly admitted Thursday that the party is struggling, and he blames Premier Danny Williams's ABC campaign.

Leo Power, a veteran of federal politics and the Conservative Party of Canada's campaign co-chair for Newfoundland and Labrador, said raising money and recruiting volunteers has proved difficult. 

The ABC — Anything But Conservative — campaign is rooted in Williams's contention that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper broke a promise he made during the 2006 federal election campaign that he would continue to exclude nonrenewable resource revenues from the calculation of equalization payments.

The ABC campaign may not have moved voters the way Williams was hoping, but Power said it has cut deep into the federal election machine that is struggling to compete.

"We're obviously challenged for resources, both people — it's difficult to recruit volunteers under this current scenario of an ABC campaign — and fundraising is challenging as well," he said.

Power said his party's best hope of winning a seat is in the riding of Avalon with incumbent candidate Fabian Manning.

"We're determined to hang on to our one incumbent who is seeking re-election … And I'm certain that we are going to win that seat. It's a tough challenge," he said.  

The party is fielding six new candidates, but none of them are favoured to win.