THE first hustings meeting of the Senatorial campaign was held last night and 12 of the 13 candidates offered a packed audience at St Clement’s Parish Hall the first live statement of the policies that they would promote if elected.

Unaccountably, one candidate, Chris Whitworth, chose not to appear on the platform or speak but instead placed a cardboard cutout of himself in his chair. As a political statement, this undergraduate antic was less than impressive.

Although the hustings remain an essential part of the electoral process, it must be said that live appearances before parish hall audiences are now only part of a much wider campaigning process.

Traditional platform speeches and question and answer sessions have long been accompanied by newspaper and broadcast media coverage, but new means of communication are now very much parts of the campaign landscape. Websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter allow election hopefuls to issue an incessant stream of information – or disinformation – to the electorate should they wish to do so.

It is, of course, desirable that candidates’ views and aspirations are articulated as fully as possible so that voters cast their votes on the basis of real knowledge about those eager to sit in the States. There is, however, some danger that election overload and elector fatigue will set in long before the polls open on 19 October. Vital as Island politics are to the future of our community and all its residents, only a small part of the electorate is quite so wrapped up in political issues as those seeking office.

It is, meanwhile, easy to make a case for the continuing primacy of the hustings as a means of weighing up the suitability of candidates. Crafting a lucid manifesto or firing off tweets are skills which, in their separate ways, can enrich the campaign, but a candidate’s true mettle is revealed only when he or she stands up in public to speak and then face probing questions.

Senatorial candidates face a long haul before 19 October and, although they are all volunteers, those who see the hustings through to the end will have endured a testing and tiring process. In recognition of the fortitude of those on successive platforms – as well as to gather the information and impressions necessary for intelligent voting – Islanders must therefore make sure that the remaining meetings are as well-attended as St Clement’s.