Corruption at the Ministry (WAS: Chapter Fourteen of HBP)

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 128707

The Barmaid:
> In regard to my point "a" what I am trying to get at is that I do not
> see anything in canon that indicates that the ticket thing would be
> viewed as "corruption" within the value system in which Arthur
> operates.  Ethics around the giving and receiving of gifts vary
> greatly from one cultural group to another. 

There are two distinct questions here:  First, whether the exchange of
gifts and favors is an acceptable practice at the Ministry.  I agree
that JKR seems to imply that Arthur is well within customary practice
when he trades favours for World Cup tickets or arranges to wire the
Dursleys' house to the Floo system for his convenience.

However, there is a second question:  Does JKR approve of this or is
she showing us a MoM that is inherently corrupt?  Arthur's use of the
favors system is generally benign, but still his receipt of the
tickets suggests that favoritism controls decisions at the MoM. 
Arthur's actions invite comparisons with other examples that are
presented in much more sinister fashion, such as Lucius and his
generous donations to causes favored by Fudge.
 
 I think there is a more
> universal argument to be made for Arthur being on ethically thin ice
> over his misuse of Muggle artifact when he is charged with upholding
> the laws on this.  However, it also seems that an argument could be
> made that JKR does *not* see even this as a real problem, but rather
> just a humorous bit of irony.

I might say instead that she does not see this as a *big* problem in
the grand scheme of things.  I also think it's possible that Arthur
draws a distinction between tinkering with Muggle things (which might
even be part of the Muggle studies curriculum) and even bewitching
them, on the one hand, and putting such bewitched objects back into
the hands of Muggles.

> In regard to my point "b" I honestly want to know where that is in
> canon.  I am very interested in these sorts of inconsistencies, in
> particular as we enter a "war" I am very interested in having a clear
> handle on how "unforgivable" the Unforgivable Curses are generally
> thought to be.

The canon is in GoF ch. 27, Padfoot Returns, and the information comes
from Sirius.  He is, of course, highly biased against Crouch Sr.
because Crouch was responsible for sending Sirius to Azkaban without
trial, but I think we're meant to accept the basic facts as accurate. 
He states:

"[Crouch] rose quickly through the Ministry and he started ordering
very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters.  The Aurors were
given new powers -- powers to kill rather than to capture, for
instance.  And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the
dementors without trial.  Crouch fought violence with violence, and
authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects.  I
would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark side."

The implication that the curses were used indiscriminately, and not
only in self-defense or when absolutely necessary to bring in a
suspect comes later:

"I'll say this for Moody, though.  He never killed if he could help
it.  Always brought people in alive where possible.  He was tough, but
he never descended to the level of the Death Eaters."

This statement suggests that there were other Aurors, even possibly
Frank Longbottom, who *did* descend to that level.  Note that we are
told (later, by Dumbledore) that Frank was popular and Sirius says
that that a large segment of the public approved of Crouch Sr.'s
methods.

Long long ago (early in 2002), there was a significant amount of
discussion about just what the Aurors were doing with the authority
Crouch gave them.  Were they shooting AKs at fleeing suspects? 
Subjecting suspects in custody to Cruciatus?  Is this what Frank
Longbottom was doing?  If so, it's no more than many governments have
done to reassure the public that public safety is being restored.  (I
will resist the temptation to name names.)  Canon, AFAIK, doesn't
answer any of these questions, but it does raise some interesting
speculative possibilities.

For example, many people have wondered why Bellatrix & co. insisted on
using Crucio on the Longbottoms instead of simply AK'ing them.  Aside
from the official explanation -- that she thought Frank had
information about Voldemort's whereabouts -- how about revenge as a
motive for torturing them till they cracked?  In fact, it doesn't 
matter whether or not he actually tortured suspects himself -- any
Auror would do for revenge. And (because I am a FEATHERBOAS-wearing
theorizer), maybe they even gave Neville a dose of it.

> As to Barty Sr. and his clear lapses.... my sense (and yes, I know
> this is only MY sense) has always been that this is more of an
> indictment of him as an individual, and an exploration of how those
> fighting against "the bad guys" can lose sight of what it is that
> distinguishes them from the bad guys in the first place, rather than
> a broad criticism of "government" in general.

What we've seen of WW government suggests that the first rule of
governance is retention of power.  Protection of one's turf is an
instinctive trait.  Both Barty Sr. and Fudge pandered to public
opinion to gain or maintain power.  (Fudge is willing to deny that the
most evil wizard of the century has returned in order to discredit his
perceived opponent, whereas the text suggests that in authorizing the
use of the UCs, Crouch Sr. was following the will of the public in
order to set himself up for the top job.)  So I think this is a
commentary on the corruptive influence of power.  There are many gaps
in our knowledge of WW government, but there's very little evidence
that there are any kind of checks on the power of those at the top in
the MoM.  (Remember how Cho tried to defend Marietta's actions by
arguing that her mother's MoM job was in danger?)

Whether the use of the Unforgivables by the Aurors will be sanctioned
again depends on who the new Minister of Magic is and who heads the
Department of Magical Law Enforcement (Crouch's position in VWI). 
While I do think that's possible, I certainly don't think the Order
will go along with it, because the curses are unforgivable.

Debbie
who is very interested to see whether the MoM will be calling a
general election in HBP or whether Fudge will be ousted in a palace
coup