From Matt Waterman.
WITH increasing frequency we seem to be seeing, all over the world, swings to what is now considered the left in general elections. Yet, also with increasing frequency, the power base within those elected governments is swinging to the far right.
It was bad enough that when he was elected in Guernsey our esteemed Chief Minister, Lyndon Trott, said during his inaugural speech, ‘To show I’m a man of my word, some of you will be getting a phone call shortly’ (a remark he refuses to expand on, so my interpretation of that is ‘as promised you voted for me so I’ll nominate you for a ministerial role’).
In Jersey the problem seems to be even worse. It seems to me that there was a massive swing to the left in the election, yet there is no one on the council whose politics aren’t somewhere between Margaret Thatcher and Attila the Hun. So in Jersey you are apparently at the stage when even Margaret Thatcher is comparatively left wing.
In Sark, the reaction of the Barclay brothers to the election was a clear demonstration of what happens when power is concentrated into the hands of a few. Imagine what would have happened if the Barclays’ friendly candidates had swept the board. Their control could have been so absolute they could have been in a position where the next time they wanted to pull out of the island it would have been 100%, not a sixth, of the work force which was made redundant.
Guernsey Press and Star correspondent Laurie Quéripel recently wrote that the EU is seeking to impose a constitution which would concentrate more power, control and wealth into fewer appointed, not-elected hands. The people’s elected representatives would be mere bystanders, while all decisions were made by quangos, sub-groups, committees, etc, most often to the benefit of corporate, private enterprise. We seem to be well into this scenario now and in my opinion the people of these islands need to fight harder to reverse the trend.
Rejecting executive government would be a major step in the right direction. How can right-wing cabinets be elected when the majority of the deputies who elect them are left wing? Abolishing the secret ballot method of electing the ministerial councils is surely imperative if governments expect to have a hope of securing the trust of the people.
Flat 2,
3 Burnt Lane,
St Peter Port,
Guernsey.
