The Chief Minister believes that his role should be given more power.

Giving evidence to the Constitutional and Legal Affairs and Justice Committee, Alfred Cannan suggested that strengthening the role would help make it easier to take difficult decisions.

Asked whether the ministerial system made it harder to make difficult unpopular choices when responding to crises, Mr Cannan agreed there were ‘flaws in terms of reaching the decisions that are necessary and having the resolution to stand by that decision often under quite heavy attack’.

He suggested that the Chief Minister could be given a power of veto or the power of a vote to take a proposition forward, even if it didn't have full consensus among his Ministers.

Mr Cannan told the committee: ‘Either of those two mechanisms might add some weight to getting either tougher decisions through, or allowing for decisions that were what might be seen to be taking government off in the wrong direction, to be nullified.

‘In both cases, obviously, you would need to have a mechanism where the Chief Minister would have to clearly explain himself or herself to Tynwald.’

He said contrary to what the public may believe, both the role of chief minister in the Isle of Man and the Prime Minister in the UK have very little direct power.

Committee member Stu Peters asking him if after four and a half years in the top job, he still believed a ‘collegiate’ style of management was the best way.

Mr Cannan replied that there was merit in considering how a chief minister could be directly elected on a public mandate.

He said each administration has had to deal with definite challenges but suggested that the current one is facing bigger and more complex issues than its predecessors.

‘Is consensus still absolutely the right way? Is it continuing to deliver results in the environment that we live in?’ he asked.

’For right or for wrong, giving the person who has been asked to lead the government more direct responsibility has got its justification in terms of determining outcomes. Giving added weight to it is something that I would absolutely consider supporting at the moment.

‘I do accept, of course, that nobody wants a dictator if you're going to have proper democratic outcomes.’

Committee member and former health minister Lawrie Hooper suggested giving more power to the Chief Minister risked increasing tension between them and other Ministers and Tynwald.

‘Ultimately you've got one person who may be in a minority vetoing what eight other ministers want to do. Do you not think that putting those kind of provisions in place could create some further instability within the Council of Ministers. Do you not think that you having that in place could cause those tensions to boil over and come out in unexpected ways? Mr Hooper asked.

Mr Cannan replied that you would be looking at enhancing the role, recognising it potentially created additional risk but arguably creating better outcomes as well.