I'll take the seat - now, what do I have to do?
THERE is a story told since the 2004 election that so green was one of the new deputies they did not know where the debating chamber was.
THERE is a story told since the 2004 election that so green was one of the new deputies they did not know where the debating chamber was.
Each new term begins with a fresh intake of more than a dozen new faces, thrown into the lions' den with little in the way of guidance.
Independently, The Workers Educational Association holds a course in the run-up to the general election called Want to be a Deputy?
This brings in current members and various top civil servants to run prospective candidates through the vagaries of Guernsey's system of government, a very basic grounding in what to expect.
But those thinking of standing would be right to ask the fundamental question not addressed - just what is a deputy's job?
The only thing that even approaches being a job description is contained in the code of conduct for States members.
This says that the primary duty of members is to act in the public interest.
Which, frankly, could mean anything to anyone.
Experience shows that some try to act according to perceived popular mood, others concentrate on low-level constituency issues, some want to micro-manage their departments, many let the tail wag the dog on policy issues and some believe in collective responsibility, while others argue strongly for dissenting individuals to be able to speak out in public.
It is a situation that would no doubt send shivers down the spine of HR professionals, but who would apply for a job without knowing what it was really about?
The situation is a symptom of the chaotic structure within the system of government itself.
The Wales Audit Office's corporate governance report highlighted the confusion, with the executive functions in the States managing to operate at so many different levels.
In addition, there is the blur between the scrutiny and executive functions.
'We found that there was a lack of clarity of roles throughout government. Deputies are committed to public service and determined to represent the interests of islanders. However, many deputies are unclear what their role is within the States,' the WAO said in 2009.
There is a stasis that infects the States after an election as a bedding-in process begins - decisions go unmade or delayed.
Too many people go in with too little knowledge of not only the political structure but also the key political issues and decisions that have gone before.
Only when they get there begins the job of bringing people up to speed on how to manage ultimately billions of pounds of public money.
There has been talk of creating an induction process for new deputies, although what progress has been made and to what success is difficult to know.
The WAO was not the only body in recent times to identify shortcomings in the political structures in place.
Shepley's review of the planning process also recommended an induction process for deputies to teach them the nuances of planning and their role in it.
In Guernsey, the focus is on educating people once elected.
In other jurisdictions, the nature of the political system and landscape means that unsuitable candidates are weeded out before they even get that far.
Locally, a good performance over a few hours in a hustings and a pleasant demeanour on the doorstep could be a ticket to political power.
In a party political system, a robust selection process is in place. Although nothing is foolproof, MPs should not be out of their depth and can hit the ground running after an election - there is no time for taking a breather on decisions whether domestically or on the international stage.
Guernsey suffers from a suspect system of accountability, too.
A weak code of conduct process and no powers for ministers to hire and fire can leave deadweights with a cushy £30,000-plus yearly salary, and a comfortable pension, for a part-time job.
And just what performance standards are used to measure a deputy's effectiveness?
Given that there is no definitive to what the job is in the first place, it is near-impossible to tell.
Probably the few people who know how they are performing are the deputies themselves and the civil servants tasked with putting their decisions into motion. Yet every four years the voters have to decide on the vague information available to them, partly the major headline-grabbing decisions of the States itself but primarily a guess made on personality, whether a deputy deserves another term.
Is there an answer to all these weaknesses? A serious debate on the structures of the States itself, creating visible lines of responsibility, would help and may be coming with the work on corporate governance.
Party politics would filter unsuitable candidates and mean those who stand do so on a transparent platform.
True accountability for decisions and actions, including hire and fire powers for the chief minister and his ministers, would be a benefit, as would a published job description.
This is not a problem unique to Guernsey, but one exacerbated by the government structures currently in place.
