Chief Minister - who do we need?

Now that we have a Speaker, the race is on to chose a Chief Minister to lead executive government in the Isle of Man for the next 5 years (assuming they survive that long).  Candidates will need to produce policy principles (another manifesto) by 6th October.  There will be hustings and questions from Keys Members before the vote on 13th October. 

It’s a quirk of Manx politics, and the absence of party politics, that means that we don’t know what sort of Government we will get when we vote.  In the UK, voting for one party or another at least indicates what you can expect, even if the new executive subsequently discover that some of their promises and pledges are totally unachievable. But party politics has never really caught on in the Island.

I watched most of the hustings from around the Island during the election campaign, and even with all that exposure it’s very hard to judge what sort of programme for government any of the candidates would support.  Many spoke of cutting the civil service but without any idea of what services would be cut as a consequence.  Many spoke about setting a balanced budget, but also wanted to increase spending on housing, health and education.  So even from manifestos and hustings, it’s hard to know what kind of government your new MHK will support.

We have the added issue that with 15 new Members, so many of them will barely know the leader they are being asked to choose.  During an election where so many candidates made very strong statements about the performance of the Cannan administration, it’s hard to see how some of them could consider supporting any returning Member.  But the concept of electing a Chief Minister who has absolutely no ministerial or parliamentary experience is just patently absurd!

Reflecting on my time as a new Member, I had been fairly diligent about following national politics for a couple of years before I stood.  I thought I understood a good proportion of the job, but I underestimated the half of it.  There’s so much more to being an MHK than most can imagine.  It was clear during General Election hustings that most of the candidates had no real idea of what they were trying to get into, and several of them are now in the Keys and the country needs them to step up.  If understanding the role of an MHK is hard, then understanding the role of the Chief Minister when you’ve never sat in Council of Ministers is almost impossible.

Any first term MHK considering that they can step straight into the role of CM definitely has no shortage of self confidence but perhaps rather too much a dose of ignorance about the role.  The Chief Minister needs to pick Minsters, Chairs of Statutory Boards, establish various sub-committees of CoMin and becomes our foremost politician, representing us on the international stage.  It needs someone who can co-ordinate and support their Ministers, someone who can pull together an achievable and realistic programme for government and who can get the agreement from Tynwald to support that direction.  And it needs to be someone who clearly understands why we are where we are on a number of issues.  This is not a position for someone interest in blood-letting or taking political revenge against anyone. Choose someone with integrity, who will uphold the Code of Conduct and believes in the Nolan Principles.

So who do we need for Chief Minister? My advice to Members would be to look for someone with experience, someone who respects Tynwald and it’s processes, and someone likely to work with Legislative Council rather than view them as an annoyance or feel the need to threaten them.  The new Chief Minister needs to remember that they will be ‘first among equals’ and their vote around the CoMin table carries equal weight to any other Minister.  They need to be able to establish a clear, achievable direction for their administration and persuade the rest of Tynwald to agree to that plan.  Look for someone who is a clear communicator, capable of understanding complex issues, can build consensus and respects Tynwald as the highest court in the land.  

It's a small pool to pick from.  Choose wisely dear MHKs.