Tuesday, 2nd December 2008

Letters to the Editor

This form of ‘politics’ is absurd

From Collette Crill.
ON the day of her election, Deputy Shona Pitman engaged in offensive behaviour in public. Many would deem that such behaviour rendered her unfit for elected office.

Since then I am unaware that the Deputy has distinguished herself as a States Member. It seems particularly ironic, therefore, that it is she who sees fit to call for a vote of no confidence in order to vilify and bully the Bailiff.

Most of the Bailiff’s career has been devoted to serving this Island in Crown Office, instead of pursuing a more lucrative path in private practice.

One can’t help wondering whether Deputy Pitman even understands, let alone appreciates, that all our Crown Officers are highly skilled and in many cases brilliant legal practitioners who choose, for altruistic reasons, to offer themselves for Crown service instead of using their admirable academic and intellectual skills in far more self-serving ways.

Given the behaviour and performance of many of our present elected representatives, one can’t help feeling that precisely the opposite motivation applies to them.

The list of our current Bailiff’s achievements for this Island’s good is as long as it is impressive, not only as a lawyer and judge, but also in so many other aspects of Island life.

In common with the rest of humanity, however, he is not infallible, and as humility is one of his many qualities, I believe he would be the first to acknowledge this. Indeed, he has publicly expressed regret for a possible error of judgment made years ago, long before he became Bailiff, in relation to the Holland case.

Deputy Pitman, though, would have us believe that along with one sentence in his Liberation Day speech when he spoke about Jersey’s recently maligned reputation, using a turn of phrase not quite up to Deputy Pitman’s exacting standards, this is enough to wipe out years of exemplary service and dedication to the Island.

Deputy Pitman’s use of this form of ‘politics’ is both absurd and risible, yet sadly dangerous, and adding to the immense harm that some of our politicians seek to cause by being so obsessively destructive and negative. She and her cabal would be far better employed in using their position and salary – our money – in striving to rectify the many genuinely important matters of injustice and inequality in this Island.

Of course, it’s so much easier to be negative and destructive . Or could it be that they don’t actually have any positive or constructive ideas to offer?
La Solaize,
Les Ruisseaux,
St Brelade.

Article posted on 2nd July, 2008 - 3.00pm

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