Too late to party as election nears

By now we should have been into the first term of a new government, instead the incumbents limp on trying to ram through policy changes and scoring political points as the electioneering begins.

In less than three months Guernsey will go to the polls with all the seats contested on an island-wide basis for the first time.

Parties, political groupings, alliances, all sorts of concepts were being floated as the new way of voting took hold.

They were seen as a way of distinguishing candidates in what could be a vast and disparate field, of having clear manifesto pledges that they would be held accountable to by their supporters.

But the few attempts that have been made have so far been duds, either breaking up in disagreements, or failing to get any momentum or public recognition of legitimacy.

With time ticking down to the election, that recognition should already have happened - there will be no effective party apparatus mixing things up at the ballot box.

Priorities have shifted dramatically in the wake of Covid-19 - as have the States finances and ability to carry on working with so many items on the wishlist. The basket of problems that need to be resolved are very different to what we were looking at as we entered this year, they will require a razor like focus and clarity of thought.

The public has had a glimpse of swift decisive decision making and will want to see more of that, the work of the CCA has eclipsed that of the Assembly and made it look leaden footed, reactionary and too prone to personality politics.

How voters will be able to uncover which candidates can deliver all this when faced with a long list of individuals but without the traditional live forums like a hustings to sift through them remains a huge concern.

Many have argued that island-wide voting can only be effective with some sort of party system in place.

It looks like that argument will be put to the test.