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Will I be drawn into existing arguments?

Almost inevitably. The Election period is the time when anyone who is dissatisfied with the decisions of the previous States will be hoping that the next lot will do better, and will want to make sure that candidates can see things from their point of view.

The most difficult conversations are with groups who have some kind of commercial or contractual relationship with the States that they’d like to change the terms of (or who don’t have such a relationship, but think they should). These are hard because there are financial interests at stake, and because you’re inevitably only hearing one side of the story – the independent organisation can tell you how it feels to them, but the part of the public sector they’re negotiating with doesn’t have the same freedom.

If you’re faced with one of these conversations, listen, take notes, but don’t make promises. At least, not about outcomes. Bear in mind that you might find yourself on the Committee which has a contractual relationship with this organisation, and you don’t want to find that you’ve compromised your ability to get involved with it.

Go back to Getting Into Guernsey Politics
Go back to Section 1.2: Getting Elected

Guernsey’s iconic women of the future?

Thank you for nominating a young woman or girl for our future iconic Guernsey women campaign to celebrate International Women’s Day!

Nominations close on Sunday 6 March at 17.00.

Please fill in the details below.

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Miriam Makeba - South Africa

Nominated by: Christine James

Zenzile Miriam Makeba (1932 to 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa. In 2020 she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 women of the century. 

South Africa is ranked 12th in the world for percentage of women in national parliament: 45.8% (source: data.ipu.org) 

Are you from South Africa? Please email hello@womeninpubliclife.gg if there is a social or cultural group for people from South Africa in Guernsey.

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The original image “The Hague Jazz 2008 – Miriam Makeba” by Haags Uitburo is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. 

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Jacinda Ardern - New Zealand

Nominated by: Martin Lock

Jacinda Ardern (born 1980) has served as prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. In 2019, she led the country through the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, rapidly introducing strict gun laws in response, and throughout 2020 she directed the country’s widely praised response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ardern was the world’s second elected head of government to give birth in office when her daughter was born in 2018. ‘An inspiring Prime Minister who brought a nation together with true leadership, empathy and compassion.’

New Zealand is ranked 4th in the world for percentage of women in national parliament: 48.3% (source: data.ipu.org) 

Other iconic women: Dame Whina Cooper, nominated by Claire Fisher, and Kate Sheppard, nominated by Anna Cooper.

Are you from New Zealand? You may be interested in joining the ANZACs in Guernsey Facebook group

Want to learn more about public office vacancies in Guernsey? 

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