Do you know what I think?

I think we should have a revolution.

There’s been enough democracy. It’s had a good run for its money and it worked for a while, but enough is enough. It’s time to change.

We elect twenty four MHKs, and they elect a Chief Minister. He chooses his ministers to head up the departments of government and then they all get together to elect the members of the Legislative Council.

In the meantime the towns, villages and parishes elect their commissioners and councillors, and so on, year after year after year.

Folk put their names forward for election in good faith. We listen to their proposals and propositions and in our opinion choose the best people for the job of running the island.

However, fine words and good intentions are not always enough. Our roads get rougher and rougher.

Hospital waiting lists get longer and longer, and every departmental budget become more and more stretched.

So, what can be done?

For a start, I think that we are over-governed and over-managed. From memory, at the last count, we are a population of about 85,000, which, in UK terms, is not even a small town.

The average constituency size in the UK is 72,000. The average MHK in the Isle of Man represents 3,500 souls.

In my opinion, having a democratically-elected Government simply wastes too much time and costs too much money.

What we really need is a Dictator. I don’t mean someone in the style of Idi Amin or Joseph Stalin, but someone more like the Chief Executive Officer of a large business or organisation.

He or she would be interviewed and selected by one of the leading agencies and would be invited to accept the position of ’benign dictator’, who would, in effect, be in charge of running the Isle of Man as a business operation.

We would still have the infrastructure that we need to serve the community.

Departments such as water, electricity, law and order, health and social security, infrastructure and the public transport network are well established and organised.

But instead of being led by a publicly elected MHK as Minister, the existing management of the individual departments would report to the new Chief Executive Officer.

This would free the top management teams from having to struggle to fulfil the election promises of an MHK.

Would it work? Ask your MHK.

Now for something entirely different. I would like to apologise to a young man who was walking down Victoria Street at about 5.30pm on Thursday, January 31.

He had to swerve to avoid an elderly man who just happened to be lying flat on his back on the pavement outside the Bath and Bottle. It was me.

I had been inside to help set up for an open mic event later that evening and had just left the building.

I had just stepped onto the pavement, a walking stick in each hand, and set off up the street, when I tripped and hit the deck.

I decided to lie still and assess the situation. In actual fact, I couldn’t move.

I saw a young man walking towards me. He was holding a phone or something similar out in front of of him. That’s good, I thought, he’ll help me to get up.

I was preparing a witty response to reply to his anticipated enquiry, when he suddenly realised that the pavement was partially blocked. Fortunately, he didn’t actually walk on me, and continued safely on his way.

I was helped to my feet by a lady pedestrian and the staff of the Bath and Bottle. Thank you all. There is nothing broken, but it still hurts.

As for the young man, I wish him no ill, but I hope that his phone falls down the loo.

A decade ago Pullyman - aka Michael Cowin - was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, a condition that affects people in different ways. Michael discovered writing and Island Life is featuring some of his musings. Sometimes topical, sometimes nostalgic, read about life as seen through the eyes of Pullyman