By John Henwood
HAVING wished the new Chief Minister, Deputy Kristina Moore, a happy honeymoon, it is right to wish all her ministers and assistant ministers the same because they too, particularly those new to the States, need a period in which to study the portfolios they have been handed. However, it is already clear not everything is going to be sweetness and light.
The first mini-spat came when the Chief Minister and the person she easily beat to the role had a public disagreement about whether Reform Jersey had been consulted on ministerial positions. Deputy Sam Mézec, Reform’s leader, said there had been no dialogue, while Deputy Moore stated the party had declined roles.
How could both be telling the truth? As ever, one has to delve into the detail. It seems Deputies Mézec and Moore had discussed the matter before the election, whereas Deputy Mézec was referring to the period after the election. Weasel words, but probably no lies. However, it does not bode well for the relationship between government and opposition. Although parties, with the exception of Reform, did badly in the general election, we do seem to have ended up with a party-style adversarial Assembly.
The government almost entirely comprises independents, whereas the now ten-strong Reform shapes much more like a formal opposition party than it did with half that number of Members. They grabbed – that’s a bit unfair, they were elected to – most of the key positions in Scrutiny and it is easily perceived that battle lines between ‘them and us’ are already being drawn. So much for inclusiveness.
Was Deputy Moore wrong not to include Reform members in her cabinet? After all, they shared the ammunition in trying to bring down the previous lot. You only have to look back at what happened when the previous Chief Minister, John Le Fondré, tried the inclusive approach with Reform. Deputy Moore is right to avoid the same mistake.
In any case the new Council of Ministers looks a pretty broad church. Pre-election almost everyone, even Reform candidates, crowded into the centre-left lobby, whereas some like Deputy Geoff Southern, who once memorably described himself as ‘old Labour’, are in truth well left of centre. Then there are a few who described themselves as centre-right, who look to have more in common with the Tory party. Both centres left and right have found places in government and it looks about as inclusive as it can get without built-in divisions.
Maybe I’m being unduly optimistic, but the 100 days have only just begun and it’s too early to look for schisms. Clearly, though, there will be differences of opinion.
Let’s look at them individually:
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Deputy Tom Binet looks a strong choice at Infrastructure, but it would come as no surprise to learn that some senior officers in his department are nervous at the appointment. Deputy Binet is forthright in his views and has a reputation for not suffering fools gladly, so one can expect a timely shakeup there.
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Similarly, Deputy Inna Gardiner appears a good fit at Education. It is an area in which she has some experience and she also has entrepreneurial flair, so long overdue reform of a system which doesn’t fully understand its role may be in the pipeline.
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Deputy Ian Gorst is a safe pair of hands at the Treasury, and he is more likely than most to look after our money as if it were his own.
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Deputy Carolyn Labey is the only former Minister to retain a portfolio, that of International Development, which principally means supporting small nations.
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Deputy Helen Miles’ background in the justice system and academia would tend to suggest she is a good choice to grasp the range of issues at Home Affairs, a position formerly held by the now Chief Minister.
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Deputy Elaine Millar is an advocate who knows the public administration system and one imagines she will bring the welcome approach of a trained lawyer to Social Security.
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Deputy Kirsten Morel is an agreeable chap and a smart politician, particularly in his use of media, but I can’t help feeling he may be a shade inexperienced for the huge task that awaits at Economic Development, and I wonder whether the additional burden of Deputy Chief Minister might be the straw…
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Deputy Philip Ozouf, close personally to the Chief Minister, is an old hand at the business of government. I thought he might be asked to go back to the Treasury, but perhaps there is too much baggage there and he is now cast as diplomat-in-chief, a role which requires equanimity and discretion. After four years away one hopes he returns refreshed.
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Deputy Jonathan Renouf tried to bring about electoral reform and had the strength of character to disagree with the rest of the review panel under Sir Philip Bailhache (the review led to a complicated referendum that pleased no one and which the States ignored), which I admired him for. His views are bright green, which is fine in some matters, but I’m not sure about Planning.
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I have considerable regard for Deputy David Warr, an enterprising businessman with a social conscience, but wouldn’t he have been more suited to Economic Development than Housing?
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Deputy Karen Wilson, a former nurse, has shop-floor experience in her vital role at Health. She’s not the first nurse to fill the position: Anne Pryke was the minister who first highlighted the need for a new hospital.
The Chief Minister’s choice of assistant ministers is shrewd. Constable Andy Jehan made an immediate impact after winning a by-election for Constable in St John, while Deputy Alex Curtis is young and appears bright and energetic.
So, an almost entirely untested team whose inexperience in government may not be a bad thing; they comprise an interesting and varied set of talents.
One hopes each of them has the confidence to resist the siren voices that say, ‘What you have to realise, Minister…’
It will be interesting to observe during the next hundred days whether the mix combines like coffee and cream or oil and water.
