There is an epidemic of identity crisis going through Alberta's opposition parties right now.David Swann was elected leader of the Alberta Liberal Party after taking up the damn-near-obvious idea that word "Liberal" in Alberta is a burden. At least, he said, everything was "on the table." Well, as it turns out, the entire staff of the ALP was on the table, but the name no longer is. The Liberals had their AGM yesterday, and have decided, after a great deal of soul searching, that the idea of changing the party name is no longer up for consideration. Wait... no. It says David Swann has decided that a name change is off the table. The members evidently didn't even vote on it.Weird.The Wildrose Alliance (nee Alberta Alliance and Wildrose Parties) leader Paul Hinnman has stepped down, and there is speculation as to who might replace him, and whether they will change their party name.The Green Party came within one vote of changing the name of it's party to "Progress Party" at its last AGM. But the resolution was defeated. Current and past executives continue to fight one another in court while the current executive seems to be begging Elections Alberta for its life in the face of reporting irregularities. Meanwhile, Edwin Erickson, who is working with Joe Anglin (leader of the Green Party) on the Bill 19 protests, and who is the former deputy leader of the Green Party, is actively seeking to create a new political party called (you guessed it) the Progress Party.[Update: The above paragraph was edited to remove a factual error made in good faith. I'd like to thank Connie Jensen for her patience and good humour.]There are people in this province who know that the best route to a vibrant democracy is not to create a bunch of still-smaller factions of anti-government sentiment, but to unite around something popular and positive that can inspire. The sad truth is that those people do not have a political party in Alberta.Yet.