States 10-year vision needs a clear direction

The deputy was linked with plans to stand on a common manifesto with senior colleagues Kevin Stewart and Jonathan Le Tocq, plans which were then scrapped.

Deputy St Pier said, in response to a question on Friday, that the common manifesto was 'probably premature in terms of our political development'.

And quite how sharing a platform with your chief minister and then standing against him for the most senior role in government fits in with that approach, we will now never know.

Deputy St Pier sees his Dandelion Project-like vision as being a mission statement which potential deputies can buy into, but says that he would be equally prepared to see his speech to be 'a catalyst for constructive debate on our goals'.

You can take that with a pinch of salt – when one has taken months to develop such a widespread vision, there would be a limit on how much tinkering one can bear.

Deputy St Pier seems to indicate that this vision would effectively replace the oft-forgotten States Strategic Plan.

One can see why.

The deputy is frustrated by being seen to be part of the so-called 'States of inaction' when, as he outlined, this States has made at least 13 significant 'achievements' to various levels. In part, those efforts are not recognised because, he said, they are reactive.

But for the public, perhaps islanders fail to recognise what the States regards as achievements because they do not appear to be leading the island in any direction.

The new States will face two challenges in regard to this 'vision' – will members be prepared to give up a degree of 'independence' to sign up, and, secondly, more detail will inevitably be required before the States has a clear direction of travel that the electorate, let alone States members, can buy into.