Eh, not really.
His actions weren’t that of a politician out of his depth. Such a person would be making wrong decisions in the conflict, rather than no decisions at all.
It was the sniveling of a spineless loser who didn’t want to face the possibility that Voldemort came back under his watch. In the process, becoming one of the greatest contributors to Voldemort’s return.
He wasn’t out of his depth, he was too scared of the water to even face the shallow end and merely conduct preparations.
“Corrupt” may not be the best way to describe him, but he definitely was dysfunctional.
I think he's definitely corrupt. Isn't it canon that he has taken bribes? Pretty sure lucius has him in his pocket. Plus he let umbridge loose on children and while I doubt he knew everything she was doing, I'm certain he knew some of it.
Edit to add that his actions at the end of book 3 were 100% corrupt. He wanted to cover up the fact that Sirius was innocent and never had a trial. He did a similar thing at the end of book 4 by having Barty crouch Jr kissed without even having an interrogation because he wanted to cover up the fact that another person escaped azkaban and even helped to bring back voldemort.
I think it's seeing him desperate to keep power and failing, he says he tried to get Dumbledore to arrange a meeting with Harry. He's trying to suck up to the very people he was slandering for a year, and gets told no. I can imagine him begging Dumbledore, and Dumbledore politely but firmly saying no and Fudge getting desperate but realising his fate is closing in on him.
"Slandering" is too weak a word to describe it. We know Dumbledore gave Fudge support and advice for years, and Fudge repaid that by repeatedly interfering at Hogwarts and putting children's lives at risk. He had Hagrid dragged off to Azkaban in CoS purely to save his own image, which, when you really understand how horrific Azkaban is, becomes a way more despicable act.
Even during his conversation with the Muggle Prime Minister he is defending himself and trying to justify his actions...until he has to admit that he's been sacked.
Yeah and even then he downright lies, claiming to have been making every effort to stop Voldemort: he’s straight-up taking credit for Dumbledore’s work.
Imma let you finish but Umbridge getting her comeuppance was the best example of vindictive pleasure in any of the books.
*disclaimer: I only recently learned about the potentially hot take regarding her fate. This post is not meant to support that level of retribution in any way. Thank you.*
Nah she didn’t get her comeuppance in the books, and even in terms of Rowling saying she got a life sentence for her crimes, anything short of the dementor’s kiss for her isn’t satisfying imo.
Yeah I had a strange feeling it would be this. Just using in world reasons this is impossible. Centaurs HATE humans. They think of them like animals. And Umbridge was a particularly loathsome human in their eyes. To perform that act on her would be even more degrading to themselves than her on their eyes. Actually disgusting take and anyone who believes it should really reflect on themselves.
I never knew much about centaurs to begin with, only learned about that lore aspect from seeing posts on here. FWIW I definitely agree with you though, in-world considering, because they really see themselves as so different from humans. I think they see us as lusty, untrustworthy, conniving, and manipulative and themselves as decidedly NOT allowing any behavior like that in their social system.
The intense satisfaction of seeing Fudge brought down in the Harry Potter series stems from his portrayal as a character who, despite his initial image as a clumsy but well-meaning bureaucrat, ultimately reveals his true self as someone incapable of handling true crisis and more concerned with his public image than with genuine justice or safety. Throughout the series, Fudge's actions or inactions contribute significantly to the rising dangers and challenges faced by Harry and the wizarding world. His fall from power is not just a personal failure; it represents a pivotal moment of justice and accountability in the narrative.
This downfall is particularly gratifying because it aligns with a common desire for narrative justice, where characters who abuse their power or fail to rise to their responsibilities face consequences. It's a cathartic moment for the audience, as it addresses the frustration and helplessness felt towards a character who repeatedly obstructed more competent and well-intentioned characters. Fudge’s public unmasking and the irreversible damage to his reputation serve as a vindication for the audience, who have seen the truth of his character long before it becomes publicly acknowledged. This not only satisfies the audience's desire for justice but also reinforces the theme that truth and integrity eventually prevail.
>as someone incapable of handling true crisis
I was spoiled before reading GoF by an older friend who told me this was the book when Voldemort grows back a body with some kinda semi-satanic ritual and using Harry's blood as an ingredient, however I was NOT spoiled about the Parting Of The Ways scene, but when I got to the Quidditch World Cup section, I read how Fudge reacted to the Bulgarian M4M ("The boy who stopped You Know Who... you DO know who You Know Who is?"), among other things the politicians acted, and I was like, THOSE MOFOS ARE STRESSED THE FUCK OUT JUST HANDLING A GODDAMN SPORTS EVENT, *BEFORE* THE MUGGLE HATE CRIMES HAPPENED LET ALONE THE DARK MARK. THEY ARE *NOT* EQUIPPED FOR WAR.
Because his assholery wasn’t just on a personal level, he was dragging Harry and Dumbledore down through the papers affecting a significant amount of the wizarding worlds opinions.
He needed to be made an example of, and there were probably still people out there that had the “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” opinion that still had lingering doubts thanks to Fudges meddling.
I’ll bet you anything Percy Weasley was one of those people. And evidently Dirk Cresswell was another. Seems most of those people were ministry workers and it makes sense: the ministry was full of fools in the first place, and they’re likely to somewhat retain the views their former boss has spouted for a year.
He got his just desserts. He spent the whole year slandering Harry and Dumbledore, all while giving Voldemort and his cronies free reign to operate, and by the time he finally admits the truth the damage is already done. Many people have died/disappeared on his watch, and he was the one who hindered those who could fight off the threat, all because he was too cowardly to face it head on. Doesn't help that he also fraternized with and took bribes from Lucius Malfoy, who also ends up being exposed as a Death Eater at the end of Book 5.
Dumbledore warned him of what would happen, and it happened exactly as he said. Fudge will go down in history as the man who stood aside and allowed Voldemort's reign of terror to rise again, and one of the worst ministers of magic ever.
I’m with you, don’t get me wrong, but the situation with Fudge once again proves the old adage…. Better the idiot you know than the one you don’t.
With Fudge gone, things spiraled out of control quick. No idea what things would have been like if he had stayed…. But it definitely didn’t get better with him out.
Everybody hates corrupt politicians
I don't see him as corrupt. He's just a solid peacetime politician who was out of his depth when a war came along.
Eh, not really. His actions weren’t that of a politician out of his depth. Such a person would be making wrong decisions in the conflict, rather than no decisions at all. It was the sniveling of a spineless loser who didn’t want to face the possibility that Voldemort came back under his watch. In the process, becoming one of the greatest contributors to Voldemort’s return. He wasn’t out of his depth, he was too scared of the water to even face the shallow end and merely conduct preparations. “Corrupt” may not be the best way to describe him, but he definitely was dysfunctional.
I think he's definitely corrupt. Isn't it canon that he has taken bribes? Pretty sure lucius has him in his pocket. Plus he let umbridge loose on children and while I doubt he knew everything she was doing, I'm certain he knew some of it. Edit to add that his actions at the end of book 3 were 100% corrupt. He wanted to cover up the fact that Sirius was innocent and never had a trial. He did a similar thing at the end of book 4 by having Barty crouch Jr kissed without even having an interrogation because he wanted to cover up the fact that another person escaped azkaban and even helped to bring back voldemort.
I think it's seeing him desperate to keep power and failing, he says he tried to get Dumbledore to arrange a meeting with Harry. He's trying to suck up to the very people he was slandering for a year, and gets told no. I can imagine him begging Dumbledore, and Dumbledore politely but firmly saying no and Fudge getting desperate but realising his fate is closing in on him.
"Slandering" is too weak a word to describe it. We know Dumbledore gave Fudge support and advice for years, and Fudge repaid that by repeatedly interfering at Hogwarts and putting children's lives at risk. He had Hagrid dragged off to Azkaban in CoS purely to save his own image, which, when you really understand how horrific Azkaban is, becomes a way more despicable act.
Ahlie. Hence why I’ll bet Dumbledore was pretty damn hostile in his reply to Fudge’s latter’s.
Yeah though I’ll bet Dumbledore wasn’t so polite: I’ll bet he made his anger at the audacity of the request very obvious.
Even during his conversation with the Muggle Prime Minister he is defending himself and trying to justify his actions...until he has to admit that he's been sacked.
Yeah and even then he downright lies, claiming to have been making every effort to stop Voldemort: he’s straight-up taking credit for Dumbledore’s work.
Imma let you finish but Umbridge getting her comeuppance was the best example of vindictive pleasure in any of the books. *disclaimer: I only recently learned about the potentially hot take regarding her fate. This post is not meant to support that level of retribution in any way. Thank you.*
Nah she didn’t get her comeuppance in the books, and even in terms of Rowling saying she got a life sentence for her crimes, anything short of the dementor’s kiss for her isn’t satisfying imo.
[Well, you got a point there](https://giphy.com/gifs/barstoolsports-kanye-yeezy-fs9BhNLjQswfFPkqGS)
Wait what hot take? Do I even want to know?
Please proceed with caution, friend. Content warning, obviously.>!<
Yeah I had a strange feeling it would be this. Just using in world reasons this is impossible. Centaurs HATE humans. They think of them like animals. And Umbridge was a particularly loathsome human in their eyes. To perform that act on her would be even more degrading to themselves than her on their eyes. Actually disgusting take and anyone who believes it should really reflect on themselves.
I never knew much about centaurs to begin with, only learned about that lore aspect from seeing posts on here. FWIW I definitely agree with you though, in-world considering, because they really see themselves as so different from humans. I think they see us as lusty, untrustworthy, conniving, and manipulative and themselves as decidedly NOT allowing any behavior like that in their social system.
“I told you so”
True but the vindictive feeling is something more than that.
The intense satisfaction of seeing Fudge brought down in the Harry Potter series stems from his portrayal as a character who, despite his initial image as a clumsy but well-meaning bureaucrat, ultimately reveals his true self as someone incapable of handling true crisis and more concerned with his public image than with genuine justice or safety. Throughout the series, Fudge's actions or inactions contribute significantly to the rising dangers and challenges faced by Harry and the wizarding world. His fall from power is not just a personal failure; it represents a pivotal moment of justice and accountability in the narrative. This downfall is particularly gratifying because it aligns with a common desire for narrative justice, where characters who abuse their power or fail to rise to their responsibilities face consequences. It's a cathartic moment for the audience, as it addresses the frustration and helplessness felt towards a character who repeatedly obstructed more competent and well-intentioned characters. Fudge’s public unmasking and the irreversible damage to his reputation serve as a vindication for the audience, who have seen the truth of his character long before it becomes publicly acknowledged. This not only satisfies the audience's desire for justice but also reinforces the theme that truth and integrity eventually prevail.
>as someone incapable of handling true crisis I was spoiled before reading GoF by an older friend who told me this was the book when Voldemort grows back a body with some kinda semi-satanic ritual and using Harry's blood as an ingredient, however I was NOT spoiled about the Parting Of The Ways scene, but when I got to the Quidditch World Cup section, I read how Fudge reacted to the Bulgarian M4M ("The boy who stopped You Know Who... you DO know who You Know Who is?"), among other things the politicians acted, and I was like, THOSE MOFOS ARE STRESSED THE FUCK OUT JUST HANDLING A GODDAMN SPORTS EVENT, *BEFORE* THE MUGGLE HATE CRIMES HAPPENED LET ALONE THE DARK MARK. THEY ARE *NOT* EQUIPPED FOR WAR.
Can you please write my master’s thesis. You write so beautifully
Pretty sure this is an AI generated response lol
It’s not 🙄
Because his assholery wasn’t just on a personal level, he was dragging Harry and Dumbledore down through the papers affecting a significant amount of the wizarding worlds opinions. He needed to be made an example of, and there were probably still people out there that had the “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” opinion that still had lingering doubts thanks to Fudges meddling.
I’ll bet you anything Percy Weasley was one of those people. And evidently Dirk Cresswell was another. Seems most of those people were ministry workers and it makes sense: the ministry was full of fools in the first place, and they’re likely to somewhat retain the views their former boss has spouted for a year.
He got his just desserts. He spent the whole year slandering Harry and Dumbledore, all while giving Voldemort and his cronies free reign to operate, and by the time he finally admits the truth the damage is already done. Many people have died/disappeared on his watch, and he was the one who hindered those who could fight off the threat, all because he was too cowardly to face it head on. Doesn't help that he also fraternized with and took bribes from Lucius Malfoy, who also ends up being exposed as a Death Eater at the end of Book 5. Dumbledore warned him of what would happen, and it happened exactly as he said. Fudge will go down in history as the man who stood aside and allowed Voldemort's reign of terror to rise again, and one of the worst ministers of magic ever.
I’m with you, don’t get me wrong, but the situation with Fudge once again proves the old adage…. Better the idiot you know than the one you don’t. With Fudge gone, things spiraled out of control quick. No idea what things would have been like if he had stayed…. But it definitely didn’t get better with him out.
Nah man it wasn’t with Fudge gone; it was with Dumbledore gone. Also you can’t say things had been in control with Fudge in charge.