WHEN the Channel Islands’ new man in Brussels says that he intends to learn as much as he can about Guernsey and Jersey in as short a time as possible, it can be safely assumed that he will be studying politics, not geography.

This is not a taxi or bus driver that the islands are employing but a senior diplomat who has spent 30 years treading the dark corridors of world governments.

The suggestion by some that the current British Ambassador to Bulgaria is somehow handicapped for the job because he does not know the quickest route from Pleinmont to Pleinheaume and cannot list his ancestors back to Prince Rollo is to miss the point.

While it might have been nice to employ a born and bred islander (but which island?) the essential skills for the director of European Affairs revolve around his understanding of an altogether different terrain.

For that he will need to understand how Guernsey and Jersey wish to position themselves politically, especially in terms of tax, not how to make gache melee.

As the chief minister made clear in the States yesterday, there is much work to be done before the issue of zero-10 can be laid to rest. The ultimate aim is to work with the other Crown dependencies towards a common solution but if something as seemingly simple as a tripartite meeting of chief ministers is proving difficult then a wholesale agreement is a world away.

Ironically then, one of the main tasks for ‘our man in Belgium’ may be to get his joint employers on the same wavelength so that he can sell their common vision to Europe.

Outside that, he will find added interest comes from helping the islands to develop a new international relationship with his old bosses in Whitehall at the same time as placating European tax sceptics.

The success of the new role and the value Guernsey gets for its £200,000 office will be difficult to measure. Diplomacy is a quiet art, not one where victories are shouted from the rooftops.

It is probably safe to say that the less islanders hear of the director’s work the better.