This week’s House of Keys move to introduce a Private Member’s Bill is not the first time Mrs Caine has tried to alter a Chief Minister’s position.

Tynwald last month voted against her call for potential future chief ministers to declare their intent before polling day in general elections.

At present, the public has no involvement in the appointment of a chief minister, who is elected by Tynwald following a general election.

Mrs Caine asked members to back a motion stating that anyone planning to stand for chief minister ’should’ declare their intentions to the public ahead of the election.

She said it would be a step forward in the evolution of the island’s democracy.

’I believe the public has a right to know before a general election who is in the running to become the next chief minister so that they can take this vital information into account in the election,’ Mrs Caine added.

It would provide a ’framework and focus’ for the discussion of national policies during an election campaign.

’In recent years people have come to notice the blind date relationship between voters and government in the Isle of Man. The absence of a party political system means that voters take part in general elections with no idea as to what kind of government might eventually emerge, no notion of who will be in charge or what the policy direction will be. This is a serious democratic disconnect.’

She said potential contenders were known to ’an inner circle of individuals and their supporters’, without a public buy-in to government policies. The programmes for potential leaders were only revealed after the general election.

The moment was not right, she said, for seeking support for a public election of the chief minister following a general election.

presidential

Many might fear it would confer ’presidential status’ on a single politician.

So she said an ’informal’ requirement for prospective chief minister candidates to declare themselves before the election could ’help give a national shape to the election campaign’ and allow electors to ask candidates who they would support for chief minister, ’as I was asked repeatedly on the doorstep four years ago’.

Anyone who decided, after the election, to stand for chief minister could still do so.

But she hit out at the current ’murky process’ which allowed possible candidates to keep their intentions quiet and for other politicians to dodge questions on who they would support to be the next government leader, allowing for ’last-minute horse trading behind closed doors’.

However, some members warned that declaring an intent to stand as chief minister ahead of an election, could lead to accusations of arrogance.

Former policy and reform minister Chris Thomas (Douglas East) also warned that the wording of the motion, that candidates ’should’ declare their intent before polling day led to the risk of some potential chief minister candidates declaring their intent and others remaining silent.

Bill Shimmins (Middle) warned that if only one candidate had predeclared there could effectively be a ’coronation’.

Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey), however, argued that constituents would be able to ask relevant questions of anyone who predeclared their intent, as well as being able to consider other constituency candidates’ views of potential leaders.

’At present, the direction of travel of the whole government is a complete unknown for the Manx public and have no say over any of this,’ he said.

no-brainer

He said it was a ’no-brainer’ by giving voters all the information to make a decision.

But Paul Quine (Douglas South) said: ’Two things any potential candidate should steer clear of are presumption and entitlement.’

Mrs Caine said if the ’accepted custom’ was openness about declaring in advance, so it was not regarded as presumption, that would be a win for democracy.

The vote on Mrs Caine’s motion was 17-6 against in the Keys and 7-1 against in LegCo.