Opinion
Opinion: The radicalism of the Cannan regime has highlighted the fundamental flaw in our political system
As a former government press officer Alistair Ramsay saw a lot in his time at the centre of Manx politics and as Tynwald returns next week he has offered up his view on where this administration is taking us
An Island population of 100,000, more development, more government spending and increased private sector influence in the public service.
Anyone remember voting in favour of that agenda at the last general election? Or perhaps you voted against it?
No, of course not. There was no opportunity to do either in September 2021 because the controversial programme that is now government policy was never presented to the electorate.
Like the Starship Enterprise the administration of Chief Minister Alf Cannan is boldly going where none have gone before. The public did not sign up for the journey and we have no idea how it will end.
The radicalism of the Cannan regime has highlighted the fundamental flaw in the political system of the Isle of Man. This is a place where the people choose their local representatives, MHKs, but not their national government.
The government, led by a Chief Minister selected by the MHKs, emerges after a general election like someone turning up on a blind date. The public has no say in the choice of leader or their direction of travel.
The absence of democracy in this arrangement was previously masked by Tynwald’s culture of cautious consensus. It is more obvious now we have a Chief Minister pursuing a strong personal agenda with little challenge, so far, from his parliamentary colleagues.
So how can the public register its opposition to, or approval for, the current regime at the next general election in 2026? As the government’s flagship economic strategy is a 15-year project it will presumably need some form of endorsement in order to continue.
The problem is that Keys elections are traditionally more about local concerns than national issues. This parochial focus is a hangover from the Isle of Man’s colonial past, when the big decisions were left to the imperial authorities.
Widening the scope of the election debate is difficult without dominant political parties. And MHKs are resistant to other ways of allowing public input into the choice of Chief Minister because that would make life more difficult for them.
But the system has to change, somehow. Otherwise those who fear the Island is heading in entirely the wrong direction can literally do nothing about it.
