What sort of power might party politicians wield?
DEMOCRACY on the ropes! A glimpse of one man’s view of ‘executive politics’ this week? Deputy Ferbrache’s announcement to the States on inert waste seems to ride roughshod over the concept of the States’ deputies taking collective responsibility for key island decisions. In essence, he said:
n We made a proposal, the States voted and said they didn’t like the proposal and told us to come back with options.
n We worked to make those who voted against us look stupid (by suggesting we spend £300,000 on looking at the suitability of two little quarries).
n We are now going to do what we said in the first place, whether you like it or not.
While I am sure that there is some States mechanism that can bring the process to account, that is not the point. We are seeing one man believing he can do what he likes, even when the majority of the States have voted otherwise.
This attitude does not stop there, however. He announced that they were moving on to do an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of filling in Belle Greve North, although he dressed it up by calling it Longue Hougue South.
This EIA, one would presume, is to make sure it is appropriate to fill in Belle Greve North. So one gets experts to look ‘impartially’ at whether it should go ahead? Wrong again!
This brief, given to those wanting the job, was to produce an EIA ‘in support of the development of a new inert waste management site for Guernsey’.
Therefore, as we debate what we believe should be the structure of politics in Guernsey, we must carefully consider what ‘a more decisive structure’ might mean and what sort of power ‘party’ or ‘association’ representatives might believe they have, given how some are willing to behave even within our current structure.
TONY CUNNINGHAM
cunningham@cwgsy.net