A political mover and shaker

PAUL ARDITTI'S rise to political prominence has shaken up the States of Alderney.

In just a few short weeks, Mr Arditti (pictured) has been elected to the States and been chosen as one of the island's Guernsey States representatives. He could also, in January, become chairman of the Policy and Finance Committee - Alderney's most high-profile position and one that is often compared with the role of chief minister in Guernsey.

In mid-November, Mr Arditti had barely contemplated entering island politics so his ascent is as surprising at it is extraordinary. Never before has somebody been elected to the States of Deliberation while having no political experience - and to become P&F chairman on top of that would be unprecedented.

Despite his lack of States experience, Mr Arditti does possess several trump cards. Four decades as a lawyer will help him to quickly get to grips with government business, while his profile across the Bailiwick is high: since 2008, he has advised Chief Pleas in Sark and from April this year he has represented sacked Alderney policeman James Priest in his attempts to be reinstated. He has also built up a large network of contacts across the islands and isn't afraid to speak out. But perhaps his biggest advantage, as he recently told the Guernsey Press, is that he has no 'baggage'. As a member of the States of Alderney, his only allegiance is to the island itself and he hasn't lived in the Bailiwick long enough to be classed as part of the firm.

Readers may be interested to learn that Mr Arditti didn't even know where Alderney was until after he visited the island in 2006.

'I came over with my wife, Philippa, four years ago,' he said. 'We were visiting friends who would not stop talking about Alderney, so eventually, as much to silence them on the topic than for any other reason, we came.

'We arrived on a Thursday lunchtime and had bought a property in Victoria Street by the Saturday afternoon. We then returned to our home in the Scottish Highlands, found an atlas and discovered where Alderney was.'

Mr Arditti has continued working as a lawyer since arriving in the island.

'The legal system in Guernsey and England is for the most part identical. English Common Law is the finest system in the world - it is the jurisdiction of choice all around the world - but it has one defect: the rich and the powerful are able to abuse it. And having found myself in the privileged position where I have retired from daily practice, I derive a great deal of satisfaction and play a small part in trying to highlight and compensate for the abuse.'

When it comes to speaking out, one clear example of Mr Arditti not being afraid to rock the boat concerns his thoughts on the 1948 Agreement - the historic contract that binds Alderney with Guernsey.

After Boyd Kelly said reassessing the document would be akin to 'opening up Pandora's box', Mr Arditti wasn't afraid to hit back. Incidentally, he and Mr Kelly have since been elected to serve alongside each other in Guernsey's States.

Mr Arditti said: 'We must not allow ourselves to get hung up on the subject of the 1948 Agreement. 'However, Boyd Kelly is wrong about this subject being a can of worms because the agreement remains intact until such time as both sides agree to alter it. The question is what adjustments can and should be made. The airport is one aspect which is under discussion, while there are fiscal issues of which the relevance has obviously altered since 1948.'

It will be interesting to see how Mr Arditti copes with being Alderney's main political player in 2011.