Senator John Le Fondré said that the events of the last ten days – in which the chief executive had agreed to stand down and he had faced a no-confidence vote – had revealed parts of the Island at their worst rather than their best.
‘There is something in there that we need to have a mature discussion around,’ the Chief Minister said. ‘If you want to have people of calibre come into the Island and if you want them to achieve change, there’s got to be an expectation that you don’t achieve it without upsetting someone, and there needs to be a maturity of understanding about what the employment conditions of high-calibre individuals often look like. It’s a debate we are going to have to have to avoid these kind of circumstances reoccurring.
‘The private sector are doing really well and we want that kind of entrepreneurial blend and an attitude of being willing to embrace change rather than sitting there not wanting to change anything for many years. Change is with us whether you like it or not.’
Senator Le Fondré would not respond to detailed questions about the controversy surrounding Charlie Parker’s acceptance of a seat on the board of New River, the UK property development company, but he said that it was important that there was an understanding that how people were treated would have an impact on efforts to bring in people of talent.
He will now spend the weekend in discussion with ministerial colleagues over the appointment of a replacement Children and Housing Minister, following Senator Sam Mézec’s resignation, and the future of two assistant minister vacancies, also created by resignations.
Those discussions will include Education Minister Tracey Vallois, who expressed criticism during the no-confidence debate and ultimately abstained from voting. ‘I’m going to have a very similar conversation with Tracey to everybody else,’ he said.
Senator Le Fondré described the no-confidence vote as ‘an orchestrated campaign to bring down the government’ and a distraction from the business of looking after Islanders’ lives and livelihoods through the pandemic and implications of Brexit.
