A-level student elected to Jersey parliament congratulated by Trump

Gabriel Raimondo, who put his studies on hold to run in Channel Islands, is one of world’s youngest politicians

Most politicians who win an election in Jersey are probably satisfied with a pat on the back from their supporters and a mention in the local newspapers.

But after becoming one of the youngest politicians in the world, Gabriel Raimondo received a message of congratulations from Donald Trump.

“It’s very crazy,” said Raimondo, who was aged 18 years and 10 days when he was elected to the island’s parliament, the States Assembly. “It makes it feel quite an achievement. It’s really good to see Jersey being put on the map. It makes me proud of my island.”

Asked if he was a fan of the US president, Raimondo said: “I would have to say not at the moment.” He was diplomatic enough not to say much more, instead focusing on the US political system.

“It’s just so far from our politics here. I don’t like politics in the US because of the division that’s created between parties. In the US with a two-party system, it’s just so divided. In Jersey, most politicians don’t align themselves behind a particular party. Here you’ve got to work with each other. There has to be some sort of collaboration.”

There is no suggestion that Trump has been keenly watching the Jersey elections. Rather, asked by ITV about Raimondo’s achievement, the US president replied that young people in politics had “great imagination” and wished the 18-year-old “a lot of luck” .

Raimondo is not from a political background: his mother is a beautician, his father a mechanic. He grew up in the picturesque parish of St Brelade, to the west of the island.