Chief Minister 'not distracted' by upcoming election as Isle of Man administration enters final year
Chief Minister Alfred Cannan says "there'll be no talk of elections" in his government as the administration enters its final year.
Mr Cannan has been addressing islanders at four public roadshow events giving people the opportunity to question the government on their decisions.
The leader of the Isle of Man Government dismissed claims of a "focus shift" towards the election, while listing a number of challenges faced by ministers.
These included discussions around artificial intelligence (AI), delivering the housing agenda, and security at the island's ports.
Mr Cannan would not confirm, at this stage, whether he intends to stand in the Isle of Man General Election taking place in September next year.
Mr Cannan addressed why a 'low number' of people turned out to the government roadshows
Ministers from the Isle of Man Government have spent the week addressing members of the public in four "roadshow" events, taking questions from a live audience.
Led by Chief Minister Alfred Cannan, the government travelled to Ramsey, Douglas, Castletown and Peel to hear from residents about their concerns as the island heads into the final year of Cannan's administration.
Despite the opportunity to question Cannan's government, a total of just 281 people attended across all four events, with Castletown claiming the largest crowd of 97.
With a population of 85,000, some questioned how valuable the roadshow events were in engaging with the population, if the majority were unable to attend.
Mr Cannan said: "I accept you don't always get great turnouts at these types of events.
"A lot of people are very busy in their lives, it's not ideal during the week, people are coming home from work, they might have young families.
He continued: "Even as a small representation, I'm sure that we will have got from those 300 people many of the core issues and questions that thousands of others will be having on our island."
Mr Cannan said 'we'll walk away wiser' following engagement with the public
When asked whether the Chief Minister thought he was in line with the people of the Isle of Man, he said: "I am not for one minute going to pretend this is easy.
"There are so many different aspects of challenge and concern, but there's also a huge need for us to get facts and information out to the public to overcome what can be huge misconceptions or misleading statements or rumours."
Alfred Cannan concluded by saying he hoped people felt 'more informed' by attending the roadshows.
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