Let's set the wash to all-white

AS PART of the preparation for D-Day, General Eisenhower drafted two communiques, one reporting that a beachhead had been established and the other that the invasion force had been repulsed. At the time of writing them he didn't know which one he would be issuing.

I feel something like Ike as I write this, three days before the election, knowing that you will be reading this the day after. I can still speculate but you will be able to judge just how accurate I was.

I'm pretty certain that 38 deputies will be elected and some will be male and some female. There will be disappointed unseated deputies, hopefuls and second-time-arounders. Some of the counts will be very close, others will clearly demonstrate great support for certain poll-topping individuals. Not all of the 2012 poll-toppers will top the poll again. There will be several surprise decisions.

By Thursday of this week we will have our new Assembly. Our new Assembly's first task will be to populate the new committees, paying special attention to getting Policy & Resources right and creating what will be seen internationally as our first president. Supporting the new Assembly's new committees will be a new civil service structure.

The all-new States of Guernsey, States Plus, may not wash our shirts whiter or get rid of those stubborn grass stains but newly branded and looking magnificent on the shelf, it can fill us with hope that it will indeed be better than States Minus.

We have a part to play in making States Plus not the best States ever, but one of the least-worst States ever. The election period began with a great deal of negativity. The log-jam of important decisions in dying days created huge divides and filled our airways with angry words. Initially the buzz was about clearing out the old States and scrutinising voting records to identify the culprits.

Feathers were being collected, tar heated and rails being ordered from Amazon ready for the day so many deputies were to get their comeuppance. 'Remember the flower planters' was an oft-heard war cry, knocking the Alamo into a cocked hat.

Slowly, very slowly, that negativity has begun to dissipate – possibly because the States has gone very quiet and the opportunity to insert foot in mouth has therefore reduced, or possibly because some of the most recent scandals have revolved around retiring deputies or civil servants and the candidates have inadvertently benefited.

Or it could even be that the sitting deputies have become individuals again and when we look at them we don't see The Worst States Ever but some nice, hard-working people trying to do their best on our behalf.

Their photographs don't show them head down, tight-lipped, rushing up the Royal Court steps. Now we see them beautifully scrubbed up, beaming big smiles at us and promising us all we have ever desired. They come to our doors, listen to what we have to say and they are almost just like anyone you could meet in the High Street on a Saturday.

Running up to yesterday, we abandoned all resolutions about voting for clear policies, reading that there are no policies. We looked at our list of candidates, cursed that the lack of island-wide voting denied us the opportunity to vote for better ones, and just as so many times before, voted for the people we liked the most.

Today we have 38 people who are each liked by enough islanders to get themselves a seat.

That's right, we have an Assembly full of people we mostly like.

The new ones have no baggage, the second-time-arounders' baggage has been forgotten and the returning deputies have been absolved.

In less than a month we've gone from baying for their blood to inviting them into our own homes. We voted for them, which was an act of faith, an act of trust. We like them, we trust them. How do we capture the love and work together in perfect harmony for the next four years?

Based on the current bonfire consultation, we probably can't actually all sit around a fire singing Kumbaya, but wouldn't it be nice if we did it virtually. Consensus isn't such a bad thing, is it?

Deputies, all we want is a life a bit better than the one we have now. A few more pounds in our pocket each week, fewer stressful government interactions with us and more confidence in the future of our island. Is that too much to ask for?

I know you are all full of good ideas for making things so much better. That's why you chose to stand in the first place. The 38 of you can see so many changes that need to be made, even though your manifestos all said how great Guernsey is and what a wonderful place it is to live in. It reminds me so much of when people find their perfect home, rip it all apart, live in misery with builders and bouncing cheques for years, then when it's all done get bored and buy another perfect home.

If you want to keep the goodwill you have built up over the last month, accept that we do live in our perfect home and although it's a bit shabby here and there, it's comfortable and we like it. A bit of make do and mend is acceptable, but as much as I like magnolia walls, downlighters, kitchen islands and so on, we don't have to do everything in the next four years.

In my view, if you elect a great Policy and Resources team, devise a four-year, fully-funded plan which will fill our black hole without increasing taxes or borrowing more, properly fight our corner on the world stage (we have a Home Affairs Committee but not a Foreign Affairs one) and protect our economy then you will have the support of the people.

Obviously not the ones on Facebook.