Setting a president

ANOTHER term, another attempt to shake things up. But while the international pressure mounts on tax transparency and decisions are made over the multi-million-pound investment and borrowing programme, attention in some quarters is still on what some would call the minutiae.

The States Assembly and Constitution Committee, under the chairmanship of Deputy Ivan Rihoy, is drafting a series of proposed changes to the rules of procedure, the mechanism that makes the Assembly tick.

Among the more eye-catching thoughts are moving to fortnightly States meetings – an attempt to do away with loaded agendas meaning tired minds rushing things through late on a Friday.

You can almost hear some deputies groaning already as they argue the real work is done behind the scenes in meeting rooms – they want to spend less time debating things in public and more time getting things done.

But there is some attraction in the fortnightly idea, if just to keep a more regular flow to the public side of the decision-making process.

Sacc is also keen to bring forward the release dates of the Billet to give members more chance to digest the issues before they are up for debate.

This already happens on an ad-hoc basis with major reports, but the usual scenario is publication on the first Friday of the month and a debate on the last Wednesday, sometimes leaving just two weeks to draft sensible amendments.

And then there is the old chestnut – should our ministers be called ministers, given that we do not have ministerial government?

Former Health and Social Services minister and now Guernsey Press columnist Peter Roffey from time to time had a pop at this one unsuccessfully.

He would argue that the title, and that of chief minister, was effectively a lie given we still had consensus government.

And then out would come some of the most ardent supporters of consensus government arguing that while we did not have ministerial government, the title was needed to be recognised on the international stage.

So where does Germany fit into this type of argument? Does Angela Merkel not get invited to the table because she is a chancellor and not a president or a prime minister?

This time around Sacc will be recommending moving to department heads being presidents, with the chief minister becoming the President of the Policy Council.

It leaves the intriguing prospect of absentmindedly forgetting the Policy Council bit and simply becoming Mr President – surely a title more than easily understood by all nations.

President Obama, President Sarkozy, and now, dare we say it, President Trott?

Now at least one current minister would direct you to the Concise Oxford Dictionary in this debate.

Handily, there are several copies around the Guernsey Press so it is an easy reference point.

Its definition of minister is 'a head of a government department'.

So far, so good for those who like the title and government by dictionary.

We have departments, after all, and they head them up.

So how does president stack up in this small talk?

'The elected head of a republican state' is clearly not the case, but, 'the head of a society or council' hits the nail on the head in the case of the Policy Council.

And then how does having ministers and a chief minister simply because it is recognised square with priority of the Government Business Plan, which talks about asserting the island's international identity?

Even the second point of the framework agreement with the UK states that 'Guernsey has an international identity which is different from that of the UK'.

Sacc spoke about the French undertones of president – in times of trying to look more independent, our States members often strive to be more French.

It is not the most pressing issue on deputies' minds at the moment, but there has always been an uncomfortable fit between having ministers but no ministerial government – a feeling of trying to be something that they are not.

So the answer is simple, is it not?

Would it be simply mischievous to say that instead of changing the title, change the system?