RESPONSIBILITY has long been a problem for this island’s government. When things go wrong it is not always clear who is to blame.

A massive overspend is easily passed from one political leader to his predecessor or one department to its previous incarnation. All too often no one is accountable and the whole mess becomes a rather ugly bulge under the carpet.

Failing that, questions of culpability are allowed to fall into the grey gap that exists between a senior civil servant and his or her political ‘master’. Just which one had hold of the strings?

The absence of political parties means that voters are then left unable to exact due accountability for mistakes made, vainglorious ideas pursued to destruction or outright folly.

To his credit, the minister for Public Services is not seeking to escape his personal and departmental responsibility for the Longue Hougue incinerator decision.

Following on from ‘I’ll resign if it fails’ came ‘Back us or bin us’. It may all be a little too late once the £93.5m. plant has been ordered, but at least islanders know whose head is on the chopping block.

Having gone that far, it’s a pity that the minister’s sense of responsibility has not led him before to argue his case so forcefully.

It cannot be right that because the States has agreed the deal with Suez, PSD must step back and leave the field wide open to its opponents.

For if PSD does not have the answers to the doubts, alternatives and questions raised by Rodney Brouard, David de Carteret and a host of green campaigners then who does?

Left without opposition, it was almost inevitable that enough uncertainties would take hold to breathe life into this month’s requete. Had PSD used the evidence at its disposal it might have been able to convince islanders that there was only one valid option and the requete would have been stillborn. Instead, pushing against an open door, the opposition is already across the threshold.

If the requete succeeds and the Suez deal founders PSD should know that this, too, is in no small way its responsibility.