With respect

HOW much respect should we show our politicians? That may seem like a strange question. After all, the answer is obvious: as much as they deserve.

Just as in any other profession, there will be some individuals who merit considerable esteem and others who fall well short of what we expect. However, when it comes to politics, the community sometimes seems to ignore the approach of 'credit where it's due' and takes out a class action against all deputies.

We've all heard the cliches – 'they don't care about ordinary islanders'; 'we only hear from them once every four years' and even, 'they are only in it to line their own pockets'.

There's no doubt this general distrust and dislike of politicians, as a group, has been fuelled by the recent expenses scandal in the UK. There were even claims that it must be happening here, despite there being no evidence of such abuse and the fact that Guernsey's very limited expenses system wouldn't permit it.

However, the general feeling that all politicians are worthy of scorn, just because they are politicians, certainly pre-dates the expenses fiasco at Westminster.

Of course, islanders are free to dislike politicians – or anybody else – if they so choose.

I confess, there are some deputies who I hold in contempt myself.

However, the stereotypical reasons given for denigrating all States members don't hold water. I have never seen evidence of any corruption in local politics. It's true that all deputies get lots of brown paper envelopes, but they are all full of reading material rather than used fivers.

While some may enter the States on an ego/power trip, the vast majority are driven by a desire to make the island better – although we may disagree over what 'better' means. One problem is that their decisions are often driven by necessity and therefore may look wrong or even perverse to those on the outside and able to take a more purist, less realistic stance.

I am certainly happy to slam the States, or individual members, when it's deserved as this column has shown in recent months. However, I really don't think endemic distrust and scorn is healthy.

I have no axe to grind here.

I am very happily out of politics and have become a card-carrying member of the human race again.

What worries me is that the more our States members do what is responsible in tough circumstances, the more they are reviled in some quarters. The more they spout shallow platitudes and duck difficult decisions, the more they escape the worst criticisms.

Deputies are fallible and this constant backdrop is bound to lead to poorer decision-making. We've even seen the ugly spectacle of the odd senior member deciding that there is more public kudos in just criticising their colleagues than working with them to tackle difficult issues.

Another worry is that the ranking of deputies far lower in the public esteem than estate agents is likely to deter good candidates. Why should well-respected islanders from a wide range of backgrounds stand for public office, knowing they will immediately be labelled as anything from incompetent to corrupt?

Of course, that won't deter the sad anoraks or those who can earn more inside the States than out.

I am certainly not asking islanders to give their elected representatives an easy ride – democracy demands that they are held rigorously to account – simply that our judgement should be objective. We shouldn't start from the premise that 'he/she's a deputy so must be a pathetic waste of space – end of argument'. The truth is there are excellent deputies, useless deputies and all grades in between.

Perhaps we dislike politicians, as a class, because we resent their ability to make decisions on our behalf. We support democracy in principle, of course, but it still feels wrong that these ordinary, fallible islanders have such power. Who do they think they are?

Then there's the role of the media. I certainly don't want to go back to the 70s, when the Guernsey Evening Press and CTV, as the only media, were far too reverential towards the States. However, I do wonder at times if the pendulum hasn't swung so far that States departments are now assumed to be guilty until proved innocent. If we have to have one extreme or the other, then I would prefer the present cynicism to the previous blind respect – but ideally there should be a balance.