Scrimgeour (Was:CHAPDISC: HBP1, The Other Minister)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 141851

Siriusly Snapey Susan wrote:
> <snip> Now *that* is an excellent catch of that similar pattern in
the interaction between DD & Fudge and the one between Scrimgeour &
the PM.  And, while I'm *certain* I didn't catch on to that when I
read it, perhaps you've highlighted why I did think Scrimgeour showed
promise of competence when we first met him.  Because, while it may
have been a losing battle to have tried to bring Harry aboard, as I
said above, my opinion is that Scrimgeour really *botched* those 
attempts, too.  And Scrimgeour caved to the kind of political 
pressure/"must stay popular" garbage that Fudge would have done when
he arrested people *and kept them detained* just so people couldn't
say he wasn't accomplishing anything.
> 
> So, in the end, I agree with you that Fudge and Scrimgeour are quite
different, and Fudge's incompetencies are more apparent and possibly
more widely spread, but I was still disappointed at where Scrimgeour
went in the story, after what felt to me as a fairly promising start.

Carol responds:
As I said earlier in this thread, Scrimgeour is an ex-Auror and IMO
thinks like a tough-minded police captain whose first concern as he
enters the Muggle PM's office is security. Collin has nicely
illustrated his calculated competence in silencing opposition (in
contrast to the "blither[ing] and seeth[ing]" Fudge--I also loved that
wording, Collin!). I don't think he's a politician worried about
reelection. Ministers for Magic aren't elected, at least by popular
vote, IIRC, but he's certainly worried about the MoM's public image
(just as a police captain would be worried about his department's
image if he wants to keep his job), especially given his predecessor's
rather significant oversight regarding the return of You-Know-Who.
(OTOH, Fudge does a much better job of communicating with the Muggle
PM, a job I'm glad he's retained. I rather liked Fudge in this
chapter, in contrast to his depiction in OoP. And he's clearly not a
DE, as some posters on this list suspected.)

But chapter 1 of HBP is not the first reference to Scrimgeour. Like
"young Sirius Black," mentioned by Hagrid in SS/PS, Scrimgeour is
mentioned in advance of his appearance in person. (I had a feeling as
I read the following passing reference that we'd encounter Scrimgeour
again):

"Lupin glanced at Harry, then said to Tonks, 'What were you saying
about Scrimgeour?' 

"'Oh . . . yeah . . . well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's
been asking Kingsley and me funny questions. . . .'" (OoP Am. ed. 122,
ellipses in original).

So Scrimgeour, evidently Tonks's and Kingsley's superior at the time
of this conversation (right before Harry's trial), is suspicious of
their behavior, probably with regard to their knowledge of Sirius
Black's whereabouts (Kingsley is in charge of that investigation). Now
that Black is known to be both innocent and dead, Kingsley appears to
be in Scrimgeour's good graces again, having been placed in the Muggle
PM's office as both an aide to him and an informant (not informer!) to
Scrimgeour.

Dumbledore describes him as a "man of action" (page number upthread?),
and I think we'll see more of that aspect of his character in Book 7.
It remains to be seen whether he will successfully investigate the
Bones and Vance murders, not to mention that of Dumbledore (which will
undoubtedly require Harry's testimony)--assuming that he's still more
of an Auror than a politician (despite his concern for public image),
which is how I see him.

Carol, who neither likes nor dislikes Rufus Scrimgeour but thinks
there's more to him than meets the eye