It is not uncommon to hear Islanders proudly celebrating, praising and defending Jersey as an amazing place to live, while moaning about how badly it is run or served by big businesses in the same breath.
Years of plenty have created a sense of expectation and entitlement which those who provide services in the public and private sectors often find hard, and in many cases impossible, to meet.
There are, of course, plenty of examples of costly mistakes which reveal the failings of Jersey’s tiered and complex system of government from the parishes to the Council of Ministers.
But, equally, there are aspects of Island life, of public service, business, leisure, culture, the environment and history, which are truly world class.
In a recent article, the chief executive of Digital Jersey, Tony Moretta, put our telecoms infrastructure into a national and global context. There is nowhere in Britain with a better 4G network and the roll-out of fibre means that our access to superfast broadband is the envy of just about every other place in the world.
For many homeowners, a fibre connection feels today a little like having an F1 car for the morning commute in Jersey. Many will never have any need to exploit its true power and potential.
But the world is changing fast, especially in the digital sector. Thanks to the investment of JT and other providers, the Island now boasts a solid foundation which should enable Jersey to seize opportunity and secure future prosperity.
This is something we do very well, but the journey is only just starting.
Business has long complained about red tape and the pace with which they can manoeuvre to capitalise on new markets.
In the wake of revelations about the Innovation Fund, there is a danger that we lose our nerve and entrepreneurial appetite. Lessons have to be learned and Jersey should emerge from this latest round of public-sector mismanagement older and wiser.
The soul-searching and finger-pointing must not lead to stagnation and a petrifying attitude to risk. The States were doing the right thing in the wrong way.
The development of the digital economy needs to get back on track while we still have a degree of advantage. The States must find a way of becoming an effective and dynamic enabler which stops shooting itself in the foot.
