IT’S rather ironic that at a time when we presumably want to know as much as we can about the candidates standing for election, we’re now in a period when their public comments are more restricted.
Such is the way the system works: with the beginning this week of the nomination period for the 2026 General Election, comments from candidates – whether they are sitting States Members or not – become much more heavily scrutinised in the professional news media.
Which does perhaps seem a little out-of-date, given that most of the candidates will be busy setting up their own social media channels, some with rather more finesse that others, and vigorously publishing their views to anyone who is interested.
It doesn’t of course mean that the professional news media are prevented from covering the activities of the candidates at all, simply because they are standing for election – following that route would effectively mean a news blackout on many important stories, whether they are related to the election or not; a point which is clearly relevant to Ministers over the next five weeks, as the activity of the government must continue.
As mentioned before in these columns, it is nonsensical to suggest that important decisions on say the new hospital, or support for the community to offset the effect of war in the Middle East, should be delayed because of a misplaced sensitivity about the forthcoming election. Voters will rightly demand better than that. Make the decisions, and be accountable for them.
It is also fair to question how much an election can truly we won, or lost, in these final few weeks ahead of the ballot. Voters have the last four years on which to base their decisions on sitting States Members – in the main, it is unlikely that whether they comment, or not, on a news story in run-up to polling day itself is really likely to have that much effect.
Of course, having held a public platform for four years can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on their circumstances – for some it delivers essential name recognition; for others that recognition is itself enough to lose votes.
The situation is similar for newcomers to politics – often they have gained valuable exposure through their community work, or media columns, without any of the inevitable “baggage” which comes with actually being a political decision-maker, or fronting up a sensitive subject.
As the candidates will shortly discover, the alchemy of political success can be complex, with many pretending to know its secret, only to discover the truth when the ballots are counted.
