THE more cynical reader may believe that having seven weeks of relative political quiet is no bad thing – except of course we will only be trading the steady stream of Government announcements for coverage of the forthcoming election instead. Almost a case of the Rock being caught in a hard place.
The issue at hand is of course the concept of ‘purdah’, a relatively recent import from governmental practices in the UK, and intended – we’re told- to support democracy by diminishing the ability of sitting candidates in government to gain extra publicity opportunities over their as-yet-unelected opponents.
Officially it is now described as a “period of heightened political sensitivity” and refers to the time between the nomination night for candidates, and the election of the last Minister into office, at which point the new Government has officially been formed.
It is a time when, “government should conduct itself differently for the sake of an impartial election.” That word “differently” is doing a lot of work.
What it doesn’t mean – and this is something which often seems to be overlooked – is that the business of government should grind to a halt, and our paid public servants get some extra time off.
The Ministerial guidance is actually very clear on that point, noting that while Ministers should observe “discretion”, they absolutely should still get on with important activity, “where any postponement would be detrimental to the Island’s best interests or wasteful of resources.”
Given the amount of essential work in the Government’s in-tray at the moment, that really does leave a lot of latitude; for example, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East may well necessitate some urgent decisions in the coming weeks on fuel taxation, whether through duty or GST; and clearly “a period of heightened political sensitivity” shouldn’t affect our ability to take those decisions in any way at all. Doing so would obviously be urgent, and in the Island’s best interests.
The whole point is to allow Government business to continue, which is why words such as “discretion” and “sensible restrictions” are used in the guidance. These are not set rules, how can they be? And it certainly isn’t supposed to be used as a reason either for inactivity, or for avoiding comment on important issues.
Once that is clear, the interesting part will be to note how this “a period of heightened political sensitivity” is applied – little is explicitly prohibited, and the test of avoiding delay if it is in the Island’s best interests is clearly broad. Voters may well note those who use it as an excuse.
