DEPUTY Chief Minister Bernard Flouquet’s racist joke will go all the way to Washington, according to a legal expert.
Chairman of the BakerPlatt Group and internationally renowned barrister Stephen Platt made his statement in a letter to the Jersey Evening Post dated 25 November.
‘You may rest assured that Washington will hear of the remarks,’ he said. This follows news that Deputy Flouquet (pictured) has declined to resign once again, despite receiving a letter signed by many Guernsey States members.
Mr Platt said the ill-fated joke could prove detrimental to the islands.
‘The deputy chief minister’s decision to share his sense of ‘humour’ plays into the hands of those who say that the Channel Islands cannot be trusted to run their own affairs let alone regulate international finance centres with hundreds of billions of dollars on deposit,’ he said.
He said the deputy chief minister’s remarks were particularly dangerous in times where the prosperity of the Channel Islands finance industry was unsure.
In a brief letter that Deputy Flouquet sent to some members of the States, dated 30 November, he said he planned to get on with his work and leave his fate up to the authorities.
‘No doubt you are aware that there have been a number of complaints filed to the Code of Conduct panel - I have therefore decided that it is not appropriate to contemplate any further action on my part at this time and to await the outcome of the panel’s investigation,’ he said.
He thanked the deputies who supported him by not signing the document requesting his resignation for making a racist joke.
He thanked the public for accepting his statements of regret and for having faith in his ability to conduct himself more carefully in future.
‘I have a great deal of work to do on behalf of the people of Guernsey and I wish to apply myself to it,’ he said.
Deputy Leon Gallienne, who led the campaign to remove Deputy Flouquet from his post, said he had expected more.
‘I am very disappointed that he has not chosen to do the honourable thing, which is to step down,’ he said.
Deputy Gallienne did not know if he had received the letter because he had not been able to check his post.
‘I have been in meetings all day. I am now aware that there is a letter in circulation and I am not sure if it was sent to all deputies or not, but I know what it said.’
Deputy Gallienne said he had not yet had a chance to decide what to do next – whether to insist on a vote of no confidence.
‘The initial meeting last Monday agreed that we would ask him to step down as deputy chief minister, but not as a deputy – now we have to decide what the appropriate action is to take.’
Article posted on 2nd December, 2008 - 2.30pm
45 Article Comments
Will the ‘its only a joke - no one will ever hear of it - its not racist’ brigade now, finally, concede that Flouquet’s clinging to power is going to damage ‘Golliwog Guernsey’? The longer this drags on, the worse it gets - and its now raising serious questions about Trott’s judgement too.
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For the sake of the Islands reputation (I was going to say good reputation but thought better of it) please go now and this sorry episode can be put to bed.
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Thankfully any damage the Flouquet statement might possibly cause will be mitigated by the good work done by those representing Guernsey in negotiations with the US financial authorities.
Whilst there will be some who want Guernsey’s finance system to suffer I am reasssured hy the definition of Senator Levin of a tax haven as being “a foreign jurisdiction that maintains corporate, bank, and tax secrecy laws and industry practices that make it very difficult for other countries to find out whether their citizens are using the tax haven to cheat on their taxes”.
The good work of those representing Guernsey will be seen in the easing of the burdens the new US law will impose and its presumptions of taxpayer behaviour.
The willingness of the Guernsey authorities to share information should ensure for Guernsey the comfort of the fundamental limitation on the presumptions (proposed by Senator Levin) in ” that they (the pesumptions on US citizens) would apply only to transactions, accounts, or entities in offshore jurisdictions with secrecy laws or practices that unreasonably restrict the ability of the U.S. government to get needed information and which do not have effective information exchange programs with U.S. law enforcement The bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to identify those offshore secrecy jurisdictions, based upon the practical experience of the IRS in obtaining needed information from the relevant country”.
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“Thankfully any damage the Flouquet statement might possibly cause will be mitigated by the good work done by those representing Guernsey in negotiations with the US financial authorities”
I agree that a lot of good work is being done to communicate the true status of Guernsey - such a pity it will be undermined by Flouquet’s ‘joke’. The information is relevant to tax specialists - but as we all know, politicians will go for a simple sound bite - and ‘Golliwog Guernsey’ will blow all that good work out of the water and off the pages of newspapers in favour of something as humiliating as this ‘joke’. Tick tock tick tock…..
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Unfortunately, Stephen John, any damage the Flouquet statement might possibly cause the standing of politicians in the public perception can only be compounded by this situation going to ‘panel and debate’. What is more important for the Guernsey person, Stephen, a strong and trustworthy Government, able to provide societal solutions to longstanding problems, or businessmen that are no doubt capable of defending their industry for the main aim of making more and more money for themselves?
He has obviously received advice from his peers and cronies that ’standing tough’ will see him through these ‘difficult personal times’. None of that alters the facts:
Our political leaders think it is acceptable to tell racist jokes in public and not be held personally accountable for such foolishness. They are quite willing to let ’someone else’ do their thinking. They arrogantly believe that the electorate support them ‘overwhelmingly’. They have three more years in which to further destroy confidence in the political system, knowing that low turn-outs favour their chances of re-election. Witness this year’s turnouts. Witness local support.
Fit for purpose?
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Regarding the B.Flouquet ‘Golliwog’ affair, seems to me there is some slippery underhand business going on in Guernseys high commerce circles and political circles, more in fact than meets the eye. Talk about stirring the pot!! Seems to me there is a lot of THAT going on. After all, wasn’t this a local matter, one that could have been handled locally? But oh no! Within hours ’some people’ in Guernsey ensured this matter went world-wide courtesy of the internet etc, and all to Guernsey’s detriment.
Now all the talk centres around the harm it may do to the ‘financial’ sector? Really! And the President of the United States is going to be informed of this matter by the British Government? Really! So what, and for heavens sake, who’s governing Guernsey now?
Seems to me the financial sector has dramatically changed Guernsey for the worst and is destroying it. Might be better to ‘Donkey -kick’ all the financial ‘imports’ out of Guernsey and get back to the beautiful basics of growing tomatoes and attracting tourists? Remember how fabulous Guernsey was back then?
Mike.
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This sort of “low level” racism is the sort of thing you might expect to hear in a pub in a provincial backwater.
When it is said in public by a senior politician who stands as a representative for an Island which seeks recognition as a modern financial services centre the damage is immense.
Stephen Platt is right - this incident makes us look to the outside world like a load of narrow minded unintelligent rednecks.
Having read may of the previous posts on this subject, what really worries me is that - maybe - a significant proportion of our population are just that.
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I ask you to take a moment to consider exactly what part Deputy Flouquet played in this saga.
Did he broadcast it to the world?
Did he place it on the internet?
Did he plague every contact worldwide for a comment?
The answer is NO.
So who did? - Answer: the BBC, Guernsey Press, Channel TV and Island FM.
So who is really responsible for any risk to Guernsey’s reputation?
Its not exactly difficult to solve that one!
A second question is: Had Deputy Flouquet resigned from his position as DCM straight away, (say the Monday following when the story had already been circulated) would the media have continued with the story, asking for comment from all and sundry, or would they have cut it and never mentioned it again? Surely it would still have been a good news item.
If they had not continued, as some suggest, why not? Has this all been a carefully organised campaign?
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I’m a Guern now living in the US. I can assure you that even if this does reach the White House no one is going to care. We have a some slightly more urgent matters to attend to at the moment.
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I can only say; and it is my belief that he ‘Flouquet’ should NOT resign.
If we have any States members with an ounce of sense, they will not ask him to resign:
HE SHOULD BE SACKED AT ONCE,
If not I can see serious repercussions from across the pond; It is not in the interest of Guernsey to allow him to remain in Government.
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The fact that Flouquet has neither stood down nor been sacked is making Guernsey look backward to outside observers.
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DCM your a disgrace DO ONE!
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In the interests of clarity and especially for delusional people like Stephen, here is Mr Platt’s letter in full:-
From Stephen Platt.
IN Jersey, people often bemoan the calibre of their elected representatives. They can, however, count themselves lucky that the deputy Chief Minister of Guernsey is not among their political elite.
As offshore finance centres, Jersey and Guernsey are suspected, incorrectly, by many to be bank secrecy jurisdictions that facilitate tax evasion and money laundering. For this reason they have been targeted in the US Stop Tax Haven Abuse Bill which has been publicly backed by President-elect Barack Obama.
The islands are also wrongly suspected to have played a part in causing the global financial crisis, prompting some questions about their status in both the USA and Europe. The IMF is currently conducting its evaluation of Jersey utilising a team of international experts, including an American who it can be assumed has been made aware of the remarks of a senior Channel Islands politician.
Lest it should come as a surprise, other than to the most ignorant, the future prosperity of Jersey and Guernsey’s finance industries is not assured. Against this background, Bernard Flouquet, Guernsey’s deputy Chief Minister, determined that it was in his island’s interests to tell a racist joke to the media involving Mr Obama. You may rest assured that Washington will learn of it.
Of themselves, they will have little effect on hardened policymakers. Of much greater concern is the capital that will be made out of the profound lack of judgment the remarks represent.
The deputy Chief Minister’s decision to share his sense of humour plays into the hands of those who say that the Channel Islands cannot be trusted to run their own affairs, let alone regulate international finance centres with hundreds of billions of dollars on deposit.
I am sure that Mr Flouquet has some redeeming qualities, but sound judgment is not one of them. Clowns are better suited to a different stage.
2 Mulcaster Street,
St Helier.
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Ah ha - Stephen John, it has taken me a while to suss out who you are, but the penny has at last dropped.
Max Clifford.
You must be, as you are the King of cowpat PR - you do come out with nonsense.
Also I liked the comment from Flying Scott saying he ‘now’ doubted Trott.
I never had any doubts about his lack of ability.
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When I read this article I presumed that Stephen Platt was operating in the USA. Very clever Thom.
In reality he is just another lawyer working in Jersey - well OK Stephen, maybe a bit more. Renowned he may be, but he is from our ’sister’ island.
Take a look for yourselves:
http://www.bakerplatt.com/section/33/index.html
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Oh Yes Henry, Flouquet is so abviously the innocent party in all of this, how silly of me not to realise the local media fabricated the whole lot.
How is life in the 50,s !!
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following up the remark by fast robert…the reputation of the Guernsey States will not have been helped by the comments on the radio of the local union representative who appears to think that racism is clever and perfectly acceptable, The Union is meant to be for everyone from everywhere…isnt it?
What an encouragement for minority groups in the Island to join what is supposedly a ‘growing union’
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Henry
It gets better and better. Now you are perpetuatuing the Flouquet line that the Islands should be enemies!
Dear oh dear. It’s classic Guernsey politics, the likes espoused by Jones and Flouquet, that it is never they that are wrong. In fact they are always right.
You are wrong, sir. Flouquet made a gross misjudgement and he should walk away from external relations, at the very least.
The wider world regards the Channel Islands as one entity. Even in the UK they are one and the same. Their ignorance maybe, but reputationally we suffer the same fates.
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Doesn’t Deputy Flouquet realise that there are only three outcomes to this situation, if he does not resign?
1. No vote of confidence - sending the message to the world that Guernsey doesn’t care about top politicians making offensive, infantile jokes to the media.
2. A vote of confidence - sending the message to the world that Guernsey supports top politicians who make offensive, infantile jokes to the media.
3. A vote of no confidence - sending the message to the world that Guernsey gets rid of top politicians who make offensive, infantile jokes to the media.
I vote for the third.
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There is some honour in ‘taking one for the team’. Such a pity that our government only has a few team players with others in it for what they can get out of it.
Is there some good reason as to why ministers cannot be elected island wide by the electorate from the deputies elected immediately after the general election?
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Henry
Hahahaha!!! Your outrageous attempt to pass the buck is quite frankly an insult to public intelligence. Next you will be saying that the Holocaust would have been perfectly acceptable if it wasn’t for the media blowing it out of all proportion!!!!! Get with the times. By the way, we all know who you are.
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Steven
you are exactly right - we must demand to elect our own ministers, then we wouldn’t have to suffer the likes of Trott and Flouquet running the island to our detriment.
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Bridge
That is why, unlike you, I use my name. I am not ashamed of my views.
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Henry, unfortunately your views are passé and the world has moved on from casual racism and blaming everyone else for your mistakes.
Take Roy Bisson’s defence of Flouquet openly in the Press. Someone else who obviously is not ashamed of his views. Judging by his terrible polling at the last election, as well as Flouquet’s scrape through, those views aren’t really that popular, so standing by them makes those people ever more distant from reality.
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Henry,
But some of us know who you really are and you are being a bit disingenuous claiming to be up front about it. Some of us also know of your friendship with a certain BF.
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i live in swansea and just to put your minds at rest news hasn’t reached us yet.
It’s not in the local news (other than Channel Islands) as far as I can ascertain, and not made regional.
If the man is talented at his job I think he should be forgiven as long as he does not repeat the incident. When he was young it was not deemed a racist remark to make. I had a golliwog doll which i loved when i was a kid and coming from an island which had zero black people at the time, having this doll meant i was better prepared had i seen a black person. And this isn’t a racist comment - i know babies nowadays who see black people for the first time on tv and freak out coz they’ve never seen one before - shake and cry. That’s not racist. It would be the same for a black baby seeing a white face for the first time. To me Golliwog meant a doll which i loved which happen to have a black face. I know it is offensive and I wouldn’t use the term in reference to a black person but I don’t really understand why it’s offensive to have a doll named after you.
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When you consider a real issue of the racist stamps being placed in local Guernsey passports, the jam jar “Frostie Tiger” joke has really been blown out of all proportion by the media.
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Henry
Bridge IS my name - you know, short for Bridget!! It’s not rocket science and I’m not ashamed of my views either. At least I don’t use a pseudonym like you.
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GEP write a story, syndicate it out to the nationals and then write anoter story about it being in the nationals.
Come on eh? Don’t any of you know how the media works?
Comment: Surprise me, publish this!
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Why does this have to go to USA, do they really know Guernsey or the Islands exist, leave the guy alone and get on with things that really matter.
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The telling part of Mr Platt’s letter was “Of themselves, they will have little effect on hardened policymakers. Of much greater concern is the capital that will be made out of the profound lack of judgment the remarks represent”.
Mr Platt is rightly concerned about the status of Jersey and its fairly recent changes to its truts law. Much of what happens in Jersey seems to falli foul of the US Stop Tax Haven Abuse Bill, and it particularly looks like Jersey will not benefit so much as Guernsey from the loosening of the evidentiary presumptions that are contained in the Bill.
Much has been made by some that Guernsey was on the list when the Bill was proposed. Those posters who fear the worst will be comforted in the fact that the Bill will allow tax havens to be removed as well as incuded, depending on how well they convince the US authorities of the willingness to share information, not only in intent but also in practice.
I think Mr Platt’s fear that Deputy Flouquet’s ignorance and stupidity will make the US authorities believe that others in Guernsey (and in Jersey) are incapable of running a financial centre are ufounded.
I would imagine the protestations of Mr Platt about the US misconceptions of the role of the Channel Islands will arouse more interest in the US than the silly, stupid action of a political bit player who they have never heard of.
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i think this really has gone on far too long…..we have more important things to moan about…..overspends, schools, runways…etc, etc…….stop turning this into a huge political thing and accept the fact that it was not a very funny joke, it was not intended to be racist and he said sorry more than once for his mistake….as i have said before, mr obama comes from a multi-racial family and i am more than sure that he has heard a few comments about his colour..i doubt very much that this will “harm” him in any way and that he is mature enough to understand the joke and its meaning….the original joke is very old and can be applied to any former british colonies
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Stephen John
You are probably right, but do the people of Guernsey want a man who really doesn’t see himself as a ‘political bit player’ and who is prone to ’silly, stupid actions’? The polls would say no. The electoral system is flawed to allow people that poll badly to attain top positions. It needs to be kept in the spotlight so we can change the system to better reflect public opinion.
It may turn out that Guernsey really is stuck in the 50s, but I doubt it.
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leigh haines
So what if it’s very old. That means we should be beyond such subconcious buffoonery. He can be an oafish throwback all he likes amongst his friends, BUT NOT IN PUBLIC. For many apologising is not enough. As Deputy Chief Minister for the people of Guernsey he should not be ABLE to say such things. When he’s negotiating contracts behind closed door, who really cares? But NOT as DCM. When Trott goes on about ‘hiring and firing’ does that mean he’ll fire all those that dare oppose his views (or rather the views of those that pull his strings)? When Flouquet bumbles about making inane offensive comments will he be protected?
The desire for these two in particular to be in the top jobs is worrying. What qualifications do they have apart from bluster? You tell me leigh haines, as one of his close associates why Flouquet should remain in an externally facing, public representative position when he his obviously liable to spurt out nonsense EVEN WHEN ADVISED NOT TO!!!
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as far as i understand…the joke was not told in public….it was told in front of the media as an ice-breaker and i doubt BF (or DCM as he is now called) ever thought that it would become such a problem to the small minded minority who live in guernsey and who spend their days on the pc looking for things to moan about…if you never wanted BF to get in what was to stop you from running for deputy? i would also like to ask how i have become such a close associate all of a sudden? yes…i know Bernie and i find him to be a very good raconteur. this will be my last post on this subject as i find some of the comments are getting too personal and straying off the topic in some very strange directions..to sum up…he made a mistake and has said sorry twice now….he is a mate and i am proud to be a spitter…(look it up on wikipedia)
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2005
A senior Scottish lawyer has been fined and received a strong rebuke after it is understood he told a racist joke in public.
Advocate George Wood is reported to have made remarks about golliwogs while speaking at a dinner in Falkirk.
2001
Conservatives have denounced one of their own senior councillors for having a golliwog as an office mascot.
Richard Eddy resigned as deputy leader of the six-strong Tory group on Bristol amid a barrage of criticism.
Jokes about golliwogs are NOT funny and they are NOT acceptable! And now, Leigh Haines, you are trying to deny that a press conference was public - it was just “in front of the media”. Come on - you MUST be able to do better than that. What is the role of the media if not to report to the public!!!!
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leigh haines
You must understand that it is not the man but the position that is important. Whatever personal grudges/alliances they have with Flouquet, the political position takes priority. We are not a backwater anymore (or we wish not to be), modern politicians in modern democracies do not make stupid jokes in public (there were people there after all leigh haines, they weren’t his ’spitters’) without receiving opprobrium.
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Belinda.
Did you see Louis Theroux last night in South africa.. If you didn’t watch it on BBC i player.
Guernsey govment really is not that bad to us.. I don’t think you know how good life is to you in Guernsey.
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We are very lucky to be in Guernsey, of that there is no doubt, so for that very reason we must not abuse that luck and strive for the best and set an example for others to admire.
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Fast Robert
I agree with your December 4, 2008 9:58 am post.
I agree that Deputy Flouquet is a liablilty but for reasons other than the silly, stupid joke.
I am far more concerned with his general views and his apparent courtship of PFI etc.
Whilst I don’t believe he intended his joke to be racist, his failure to appreciate that his remarks would be seen by many as racist, does ask questions of his suitablilty to be a minister, let alone the deputy CM.
Mind you there a few other ministers who I would prefer to see outside the Policy Council!!!
Agree, Fast Robert - not fit for the purpose.
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All the way to Washington is Guernsey now part of the US?
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The guy is so far past the mark…How dare he suggest his position is granted more power. Is he the thickest skinned man in the world or does he not realise the people do not want him representing them…I shake my head in dismay every time i think of such a man in a priviledged position. BERNARD SHOULD YOU READ THIS… RESIGN…States members…DUMP HIM!
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I am a Guern living overseas and have done for many years. The message is: Nobody around the world cares! Most of the people I live and work with, don’t know where Guernsey is let alone the impact of a silly local politician making dreadful and totally unamusing ‘jokes’. If you want to take a ‘global’ perspective, live in the real world folks. It’s a totally internal matter - you get the government you deserve. Seems to me everyone wants him to go, surely the constitution is up the swanny if you can’t get rid of him, as well as the fact that this man can’t reason enough that he has shown dreadful ‘political’ savvy and is now a lame duck. I’m pretty certain people are not removing their money from Guernsey because of the remark, but it just goes to show the power of the media these days and how much we are all prepared to swallow it. The real issue is whether or not you are prepared to listen to this man of power in Guernsey any longer. Nobody else would.
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A very sad lapse of judgement. Portraying everything that is wrong about Guernsey. If the man does not have the decency to resign, then he must be sacked. What is scary is the thought that he could have been chief minister!
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Hmm,seems this whole subject has lost some momentum,and the States have perhaps buried the matter?
When did the public’s opinion ever matter anyway when it comes to influencing the old boy network?
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