[HPforGrownups] Percy. ( and WW government)

[Jocelyn Grunow]

No: HPFGUIDX 121535

On Monday, January 10, 2005, at 08:06 am, Ffred wrote:

> My second major disagreement with Pharnabzus is over the Ministry 
> itself. In
> his conception of WW politics as being based solely on patronage, he 
> sees it
> as an institution which is itself riven by patronage. I'm not so sure. 
> If
> this was so, then why did Fudge become Minister, rather than one of 
> the more
> powerful internal patrons?

Ooh! This one's easy!  I was the president of the local chapter of an 
international group once, and there were a number of factors 
influencing my election, including:

1/  I had no factional alliegance.  The other major candidates were so 
aligned with factions that the opposing factions wouldn't vote for them
2/ I was pleasant and seemed malleable

In other words they wouldn't vote for an opposing faction, but I seemed 
tolerable!

Of course by the time I stepped down I had plenty of political ties and 
enemies, but that's what got me in!  I've seen this time and time again 
in politics - in a deadlock you end up with a non-aligned pleasant 
'lightweight'.  The lightweight's progress thereafter can be veeery 
interesting!

Jocelyn