I suppose I stopped understanding the logic of politics when my wife casually asked: ‘Why do doctors, nurses and industry professionals need skills training to practise their profession, when politicians can come off the street and set about running the government of the country?’

In contemporary parlance, I suppose it’s what you call a ‘no-brainer’. But it is a legitimate concern for all who have to live with the consequences of the electoral process we eagerly champion as ‘democracy’. We certainly have the right to chose who should represent us – oddly enough, it generally stops short of ‘how’.

Once our representatives are selected and launched, we expect that some magical transformation will overtake them so that they will all act in our best interests, with dignity, sound judgment and fairness. Moreover, we take it on trust that they will be true to their promises to represent us, as their stake-holders, and not slide into a morass of hubris, self-advancement and obstinacy.
Well, that’s the theory, anyway.

So what has been the outcome of the latest exercise, heralded so loudly by the local media and political village as the ‘breakthrough’ event in our electoral history? In reality, we could have done with a little less hype and more management of expectation. It could not be described as a ‘clean break’ while six members of the depleted ranks of pan-Island representatives remain in place. Nor that despite the will of the people having been exercised on 19 October, the ‘old guard’ will still be in place till mid-November and deciding on important legislation including the Budget, the number of assistant ministers and the voting for the new Chief Minister.

I suppose there is some relief that next time round, in 2014, such ‘survivors’ won’t be able to slip under the net, in the way that has besmirched the new Assembly with something of a false start.

Seventeen new faces, but the composition of talent is not significantly different. Anyone hoping for a radical shake-up would have been disappointed, with several returnees emerging like old slippers to masquerade as ballet shoes.
Some would say that continuity is a beneficial element of good governance.

That, undoubtedly, depends on whether the previous course had been well plotted and navigated. Obviously only those of a certain persuasion put themselves forward for office – some feel that once having become accustomed to the position, they should be regarded as fixtures by right. We’ve been offered a telling insight into the mettle of our public servants as their fate was decided. From expressions of humility and resignation after lengthy tenure of office to grudging reluctance to accept that voters were exercising judgment rather than prejudice.

In pre-election days, we heard many complaints about the outgoing assembly, particularly about its unwieldiness and the bad behaviour exhibited in the Chamber. Well, we will certainly have fewer Members from now on – though, arguably, in the wrong categories, and some of those on the ‘worst behaved’ list are still in situ. Imposing fines for misbehaviour notwithstanding, we can’t therefore be sure there’ll be no repetition of personal insults in future.

So, no Le Gallais removal vans parked outside our equivalent of the back door to No 10 Downing Street, but a whole list of reforms to be considered in the wake of recent and long-term experience. First, the two months of formal campaigning seem to have gone on forever. Surely, with the election date set well in advance, a more focused process, half as long, would suffice.

At the same time, formal States sittings should be suspended during the campaigning period in order to prevent existing Members taking opportunistic ‘advantage’ from the floor of the House, and to give all candidates adequate time to knock on doors, flatter constituents, offer to carry prospective electors’ shopping – all the things which suddenly become in vogue in the run-up to polling.

And, when business closes before an election, it should be assumed that when the House reopens, it will be under new management. Finally, to endorse the sense of occasion on Election Day itself, all ballots should be counted immediately the polls close and the results declared forthwith.

Then there’s the advice to candidates during the campaign. Don’t talk down the institution you’re desperate to join. It’s demeaning and potentially self-fulfilling, and nobody expects you to be able to wave a magic wand the minute you hit the Chamber. By the same token, avoid exaggerated promises. The electorate may initially be welcoming, but has an elephantine memory.

A little research is no bad thing, either. The recent hustings and radio phone-ins threw up a pretty predictable list of electors’ questions. It was quite illuminating to discover how many candidates were simply not prepared for them. And be realistic. If every candidate were to prevent any further development in their parish, there’d be nowhere for anyone to live, work or relax.

That’s the ‘easy’ bit. For further consideration, with an independent Electoral Commission on its way, it is surely time to revisit the constituencies that make up representation in the States in order to better reflect the population spread; ensure all would-be Ministers (and Assistant Ministers) serve on a Scrutiny panel before being considered for office; and reinforce the experienced role of the Constables in the House as the true representatives of their parishes by excluding them from accepting ministerial roles.

Most radical of all, given the renewed appetite for political accountability, the proposition that all other Members should be elected on an Island-wide mandate cannot be ignored, because when all is said and done, the raison d’être of all our legislators is to do their best for our united community.