A PROPOSITION to go before Sark’s Chief Pleas aimed at ending the dual role of the Seneschal as island judge with some additional court-related administrative functions and as ‘speaker’ of the parliament is an interesting illustration of the unhappy nature of society over there.

By seeking to blame the Barclay family for making the change – and any associated expense – necessary, the chairman of the island’s General Purposes and Advisory Committee is either misleading islanders or is himself missing the point.

The dual role has to change because it is wrong on many levels, has been confirmed by the UK’s Court of Appeal as in need of reform and, unchanged, is a potential embarrassment to Her Majesty’s government which, in the past, has unfairly put pressure on Guernsey to try to bring its tiny neighbour into line.

If Sark truly was determinedly embracing an open, transparent and forward-looking democratic future, it would have actively pursued change. It would not have left things drag until its even nearer neighbours threaten to escalate matters to Strasbourg and then grumpily demand, as GPAC does in its report to Chief Pleas, that Guernsey’s Law Officers sort out its own mess.

In many respects, the earlier painful transition from a feudal to a democratic society is proving less of a challenge than the battle for what sort of community Sark wishes to be.

Is it to remain a privileged bolthole in which those with cash can enjoy their retirement years, or is it to become a flourishing island setting new standards of excellence in tourism and self-sufficiency and providing year-round employment?

The investment potential represented by Sark Estate Management might come from a difficult quarter, but it is the only act in town.

Until it arrived, the island was dying on its feet and those who liked Sark just as it was were doing nothing to help those who didn’t, and who needed to work for a living – although it did assure the wealthy of a ready supply of cheap labour.

In many respects, changing the role of the Seneschal is a sideshow – for all the implications it has for Guernsey’s own role of Bailiff.

What really matters is the forthcoming elections.

If even a handful of ‘ordinary’ Sarkees are elected, Chief Pleas has the opportunity genuinely to become forward-looking.