Dr. David Swann thanks his supporters after winning the Alberta Liberal leadership race in late 2008.

On a frigid December 13, 2008, Liberal MLA Dr. David Swann stood in front of 100 Alberta Liberal party faithful inside a rented meeting room of the Glenmore Inn.

Swann, hands raised and grinning ear to ear, had just defeated his two opponents, Calgary MLA Dave Taylor and former MLA Mo Elsalhy, in a leadership race, replacing Kevin Taft, who had led the party through a disastrous showing in the March 2008 provincial election.

“Brothers and sisters… the doctor is in,” Swann told the crowd in a cringe-worthy, Obama-esque speech, while his loyal supporters chanted his name.

The Calgary-Mountain View MLA pledged to reinvigorate Alberta’s political landscape. Right-versus-left, rural-versus-urban, us-versus-them politics were a “no-win game,” Swann declared.

He promised to tour the province and engage citizens, to open the Liberal party’s “doors and windows” to make it more reflective of Alberta’s centrist population and to triple the party’s membership to 18,000.

He was also open to co-operating with other opposition parties and trading in the party’s toxic ‘Liberal’ brand to the Alberta Party — heady days indeed.

That was then.

Two years and 43 days later, with his party adrift and stuck low in public opinion polls, Swann read the writing on the wall. His time as leader was over. After the spring session in the legislature ends, he will step down as party leader and stay on as a Calgary MLA.

“My decision… represents an opportunity to renew our party as the future-focused, moderate voice of Albertans,” Swann told reporters at a press conference.

“Let me assure you and the government that the official Opposition remains united as we head into the spring session of the legislature, and we will actively hold the government accountable.”

Swann’s abrupt decision comes exactly one week after Premier Ed Stelmach, also no stranger to leadership woes, announced he isn’t leading the Conservatives into the next election.

And it was only one week ago when Swann acknowledged his own lack of political acumen. “I’m not a typical politician, I acknowledge that,” he told Fast Forward Weekly. “I don’t think there is anyone who thinks that I am.”

Perhaps signalling his future as party leader was in question, Swann oddly added, “I have a mandate to go into the next election by the party. There’s no question of that.”

Alberta Liberal Party president Erick Ambtman says Swann wasn’t asked to resign and “continues to have that mandate until he chooses to resign.” The 32-year-old praises Swann for reaching out to younger voters such as himself and largely purging the party of its $650,000 debt.

“Ultimately this is his choice, he’s made a decision, he’s let us know and we respect him for making the decision he’s made,” says Ambtman.

The polls seem to reflect Swann’s candid admission of his inability to play politics. The most recent, in December, had the Liberals in third spot with 19 per cent, well behind the Wildrose Alliance and the Conservatives — only four points higher than when Swann took the party reins in 2008.

Within the party, things haven’t gotten much better during those two years.

Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor unexpectedly left the party in April 2010 to sit as an independent. He chastised the party for being “adrift, lacking a coherent vision and the strategic focus,” and gave some parting wisdom to Swan: “…to start listening to what people are telling him because it’s almost too late to turn things around.”

In July, party president Tony Sansotta resigned over Swann’s willingness to work with other opposition parties. Edmonton-Riverview MLA and former party leader Kevin Taft announced he will leave politics before the next election. And earlier this month, the Liberal caucus fired its communications director, Neil Mackie.

Taylor, who has since joined the reinvented Alberta Party as its sole MLA, doesn’t regret leaving the party he once longed to lead. “I’ve found a new home and I like it,” he says.

With three political parties — Conservatives, Liberals and the Alberta Party — now preparing leadership races, the province’s political stage has never been more volatile, says Taylor.

“I suspect there will be more change yet,” he says. “I don’t know what the nature of that change will be, where it will come from or where it will land.”

Swann’s departure wasn’t all that surprising, says Mount Royal University political science associate professor Lori Williams.

“The party cannot continue as it has been doing and have any hope of maintaining its support or generating new support,” she says. “Many people will admire what he has done and tried to accomplish, but they just don’t think he has the political savvy to do what the province or the party needs right now.”

Unfortunately for the Liberals — and the Alberta Party — what their party needs may be out of their control and in the hands of the Conservative party membership, adds Williams.

“Depending on who the new leader is or what happens from within that party, we may see people moving to the Liberal party or the Alberta Party,” she says. “And my guess is that we’ll see people moving to the Alberta Party simply because it doesn’t have either the history or the name associated with both.”

Email: thowell@ffwd.greatwest.ca