Percy. ( and WW government)

[nrenka]

No: HPFGUIDX 121414


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "manawydan" <manawydan at n...> 
wrote:

> Possibly, given that there appears not to be any seperation in the 
> WW between executive, administration, and judiciary, someone only 
> becomes Minister by gaining and retaining the support of as many 
> factions as possible within the bureaucracy.

It seems to me that a classic problem in the WW is actually a *lack* 
of a professional bureaucracy.  That is to say, people are put in 
positions more for reasons of connections and nepotism than for 
individual merit.  We've been given pretty strong hints that this is 
how the system works; Molly's statements about how Arthur has been 
stuck due to his views, Percy's sudden rise, the employment of a 
number of ex-DEs in nice positions, Lucius Malfoy's exercise of 
influence.  This being the case, I think individuals are far more 
vulnerable to the winds of political change than in a system where 
the bureaucracy is more strongly neutral.  In addition, in every 
system, certain kinds of bureaucratic chiefs are almost always 
political appointments, which leads to point numbah two...

<snip>

> If the MoM is a Soviet-style bureaucracy, then Fudge's fall will 
> mean that everyone associated with him will fall too. But as I 
> argued above, I don't think it is. 

If we're playing the game that the British system is a model for the 
fictional WW, then scandals like Fudge's HAVE been known to take 
down both a central figure and a lot of other people who end up 
unwillingly along for the ride.  (I'm also thinking about things 
like the Prufumo scandal, which ended up taking down the government 
in elections.)  Assistants are often sacked along with everyone else 
to avoid the taint of possible associations.  The unfortunately 
unknown factor here is the presence or lack of political parties and 
exactly what happens when the WW changes governments.

We know via website and comments that Fudge is out.  I'm cheerfully 
looking for at least some of the government to go with him.  
Association with Fudge is a recipe for political suicide, given the 
(projected) backlash.  This may or may not affect Percy--but who 
knows, maybe he has had his taste of bureaucracy?  I but guess.  But 
it's not only in a Soviet-style system where people take associated 
falls.

-Nora would be mightily tickled to find out about the existence of 
rival wizarding political parties, as this would bolster the 
argument very greatly