There are, however, limits to the nature and extent of personal attack that politicians or parochial officers should expect to face. Those limits have been exceeded by a very considerable and utterly inexcusable margin in the case of John Germain, who until recently intended to stand for the post of Procureur du Bien Public in St Martin.
It seems that some person or persons believe that election campaigning can include abusive and even obscene phone calls to a potential candidate. When calls of this nature were blocked by Mr Germain, his home was subject to physical attack.
It should go without saying that someone who has served his parish for 50 years – 20 of them as a respected and admired Constable – does not deserve to be treated in this disgraceful manner. Moreover, the lack of respect that has been shown to an individual also indicates contempt on the perpetrator’s part for the fair play and fundamental good manners which must always be features of Island democracy.
Sadly, the St Martin case cannot be viewed in isolation. Rumours and malicious gossip were also factors in recent elections in St Peter – though a successful appeal was made to parishioners to halt such conduct in the interests of electoral fairness.
And smear tactics, wild accusations, black propaganda and unprincipled eagerness to dispense with common courtesy are by no means limited to election time. Many Islanders will be familiar with the present political practice of firing off insulting e-mails from the hip without regard for the niceties of social conduct and, in too many cases, scant regard for the truth.
Many will also know of locally generated blogs and websites specialising in a toxic blend of untruths, half-truths, innuendo and cowardly attempts at character assassination. Such reckless irresponsibility is perhaps one of the penalties to be paid for the benefits of the internet age, but those who engage in systematic online defamation should understand that they are despicable enemies of free speech – which must always be tempered by reason – rather than anything remotely resembling its defenders.
