The day after a devastating leadership review vote, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said he still needs more time to decide what his next steps will be.

"I didn't get the result that I anticipated, but I'm going to meet with my staff and caucus ... and members of the party and determine what I'm going to do,'' Klein told reporters Saturday in Calgary.

"I'll have something concrete for you by next week, mid-week.''

Later Saturday, party officials said the usual question-and-answer session Klein held with delegates had been cancelled.

On the positive side, Klein's daughter had gone into labour on Saturday. A baby boy is expected.

Klein, who has held the premier's post for 13 years, received only 55 per cent support from Conservative delegates.

"55 per cent is unheard of. This is a man who in three prior leadership reviews received 90 per cent plus," CTV's Todd Battis told Newsnet on Saturday.

"It's very difficult for the party today because while many expected Mr. Klein would not get the kind of numbers he wanted, I don't think anyone was really expecting such an outcome, such a poor performance for the premier."

However, Battis said, Klein was careful to point out the fact that he had received the party's endorsement, if only by a slim margin.

With such low support, however, it's unlikely he will be able to maintain his grip on the party, Battis said.

"Ralph Klein is a scrapper, but it's very unlikely that even he would not recognize the signals from within his own party and take this opportunity to move aside," Battis said.

Prior to the leadership review, there was widespread speculation that Klein needed at least 75 per cent approval to avoid an earlier retirement than he would like.

Marisa Etmanski, Klein's official spokesperson, told the Canadian Press the premier was deeply disappointed. "He was shocked and, I daresay, a little hurt," she added.

"If you gave the 1,400 people in this room a ballot and asked them if they think Ralph Klein was a good premier, he'd get well over 80 per cent of last night's vote. This was about timing, not about the man," argued Rod Love, once Klein's top political advisor, on Saturday.

Klein earlier pleaded with his Conservative Party faithful at the party's annual convention to let him stay on as their leader for another two years.

"I ask you to give me -- one final time -- your endorsement to achieve what I have laid out for the duration of this mandate," Klein told roughly 1,200 delegates in a speech before they cast secret ballots in the mandatory leadership vote.

"If you see fit to give me that support, I pledge to you that I will work as hard as I possibly can to bring continued honour to this party and continued prosperity to this province we love."

Ultimately, they didn't extend him that support.

"People recognize that if this was to go on for two years, it could potentially rip the party apart. And then it would have to repair itself and immediately go into an election," said Lyle Oberg, a leadership aspirant who was removed from cabinet about a week ago after telling party members in his constituency that he wouldn't ask them to support Klein in the leadership review.

Klein has won four consecutive majorities for the Tories. But he has been criticized of late for failing to provide solid leadership -- and for the political infighting critics say began when he announced his retirement wouldn't come until Oct. 31, 2007.

The 63-year-old political warhorse has said he would resign if he didn't achieve a "substantial majority" in his leadership review.

Potential successors

A new high-profile potential successor to Klein let it be known Saturday he was "leaving the door open" to run for the Tory leadership.

Preston Manning -- son of former Social Credit premier Ernst Manning, and founder and former leader of the Reform Party -- said he'd have to be convinced that pursuing the leadership would be best for not only the province and the party, but himself.

Manning said he'd have to be convinced there was enough of an organization supporting him to sell the memberships required to compete and win.

Meanwhile, several potential leadership hopefuls besides Oberg are waiting in the wings in the yet-to-be declared leadership race:

• Former provincial treasurer Jim Dinning;
• Veteran cabinet minister Ed Stelmach;
• Advanced Education Minister David Hancock;
• Rookie legislature member Ted Morton; and
• Mark Norris, a one-term cabinet minister from Edmonton.