Braid: Pawlowski guilty but martyred, with Smith’s unknowing help

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Preacher Artur Pawlowski may be very disenchanted in UCP chief Danielle Smith. When the election marketing campaign started on Monday, he counted her amongst “the snakes and the scorpions and the vipers who’re already at one another’s throats”.

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It is ungrateful of him, it appears to me. Nobody has given Pawlowski extra profile on the novel proper than Smith.

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Now he has extra eagerness for martyrdom after being discovered responsible of felony mischief for his actions on the Coutts border blockade on Tuesday, in addition to breaching a launch order.

Smith took a cellphone name from Pawlowski in January. She expressed sympathy for dropping the costs in opposition to him, however mentioned she could not as a result of prosecutors are so rattling unbiased.

They proved it on Tuesday.

The justice system thwarted the brand new prime minister’s private choice to drop “political” fees. Pawlowski despises her for abandoning him. And now he’s forming a celebration to behave in opposition to her.

Some cellphone name.

Anybody listening intently to the recording, and listening to the rising exasperation in Pawlowski’s voice, may solely suppose, “uh oh, look out, Danielle.”

Even earlier than Tuesday’s ruling, Pawlowski baked martyrdom into his rhetoric.

“If I’m convicted of this crime, Canada is now not formally a democracy, it turns into a totalitarian police state and a regime that hunts down individuals merely for daring to articulate what the federal government doesn’t like.”

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He drummed up a crowd of followers for the event. “The victory belongs to the Lord. See you on the courthouse as we speak. It should be a terrific day.”

Certain sufficient, the little room was crowded and there have been extra followers exterior.

The decision actually did not matter a lot. Pawlowski is already a hero within the minds of his followers. It is a standing he appears to take pleasure in in a biblical method.

Now he needs to change into prime minister. He created the Solidarity Motion of Alberta. The identify is reserved by Elections Alberta.

Pawlowski claims that he already has 30 candidates. The Solidarity Motion wants 44 to change into an official celebration and seem on the poll for Could 29.

Elections Alberta confirmed this. There is no such thing as a bar in opposition to forming a celebration on the final minute. Social Credit score did it in 1935 and stayed in energy for 36 years.

It’s also not unlawful for a convicted felon to be a candidate, and even change into prime minister.

In a Twitter videoPawlowski referred to as for help with the assistance of Rob Anders, the previous Conservative MP, who appeared in his “Arrest Trudeau” sweater.

Anders mentioned, “If you wish to finish sampling, if you wish to defund drag queen story time, if you wish to return to paper ballots and also you need to finish radar digicam, contact Artwork Pawlowski.”

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Pawlowski has dismantled everybody who shouldn’t be with him.

“If you need communism and socialism, Notley is your girl. If you need corruption, flip-flopping political pancakes, half-baked, that is your Smith. I am not going to speak about liberals – if you would like that, you are just about past redemption in my books. Solely God can prevent from that mindset.”

He added that “the whole lot is corrupt to the core.” Training now not offers coaching and “well being care that takes half our funds – my God, $20 billion disappears yearly and nobody is aware of the place – no accountability.”

Not so way back, Pawlowski was a vivid however minor character on the streets of Calgary. He was at all times illiberal in his views, particularly in opposition to gays.

The flood of 2013, he mentioned, was brought on by “Jesus who wept over the perversions of homosexuality, which incorporates the strolling out of the satisfaction of their abominations within the streets of our cities.” He additionally blamed abortion.

Then got here the pandemic, the rising motion in opposition to COVID measures in church buildings, the expansion of apocalyptic pondering. Pawlowski’s affect and following started to unfold.

After which, at some point in January, he talked to the prime minister. He recorded the decision and it grew to become public.

Artur Pawlowski was all of the sudden well-known — as a result of Danielle Smith did not see the entice.

Don Braid’s column seems usually within the Herald

Twitter: @DonBraid