Join hosts Aureo, Irvin, Sophia, and guest DJ (Denis James) as they discuss the short-lived and abrasive Minister for Magic: Rufus Scrimgeour.
In this episode:
- The dangers of shallow bottoms
- Rufus Scrimgeour, you had one job!
- Is the wizarding world a democracy? Doubtful…
- Scrimgeour lasted for seven Liz Trusses
- We all become Minister of Magic and come up with the perfect Gryffindor plan
- Scrimgeour is stubborn, even in the face of death
- Best gossip is always served at the Three Broomsticks
- All could be solved if Scrimgeour was better with people
- As Minister, you need the tea!
- Imagine Minister Mad-Eye Moody!
Resources:
- The comments on Episode 14
- Ministers for Magic by J.K. Rowling
More from our guest, DJ:
- DJ’s novel: Tobias (The Arcane Rebellion)
- DJ’s fanfic: No Parting of the Ways
- Find DJ on the web
The pub’s jukebox: Ode to Scrimgeour by I Speak Tree
Hi guys! Long time listener, first time commenter. A few thoughts:
Generally, Scrimgeour seems to me like someone completely devoted to his duty, even to the point of mistreating people (and throwing random wizards into Azkaban).
Well said!
If the ministry really wanted to regain Harry’s trust, asking him to do anything should have been completely off the table. When you’ve wronged someone, you don’t make it better by going “hey, can you do me a solid?”
Definitely! It never works, especially with a teenager.
Welcome to the comments! Happy to hear from you – and especially regarding your expertise in fallen governments! What you describe sounds like what probably happened with Fudge and Scrimgeour, so thanks for laying it out.
I believe Scrimgeour could have been a decent politician than he turned out be, if he were to be the minister during peace time. Scrimgeour was just a military leader, with almost Percy like reverence for the system. He never got a chance to learn the ways of a ‘politician’, being appointed at the worst possible time. It must’ve been easier to manage the auror department with his attitude and approach, as they only allow really competent wizards there. But most of the ministry seems to be riddled with incompetent people who need WWW products to protect their own skins. So it seems like a smart decision to ask people to cast protective charms themselves, it literally saved ministry’s face. His task as a minister thus was to keep the sinking ship afloat while fighting the dark wizards. No wonder he was locked up in his office, he might be having a mental breakdown! Maybe Fudge was partly responsible for letting in the incompetent staff, I imagine a military leader like Scrimgeour would implement a stricter eligibility criteria for the ministry. All he has to do is campaign to ‘make ministry great again’ and I can see people voting for him! 🤡 I am not a Scrimgeour fan, but your excellent discussion made me think! Thank you for another great episode!
Glad you enjoyed our Scrimgeour discussion!
I dunno that Scrimgeour’s lack of people skills would have ever made him a decent Minister – in fact, I think he would have gotten much more slack for his brusqueness due to the ongoing war than he would have gotten at peacetime.
And I don’t think we can lay the blame for Ministry incompetence squarely at anyone’s feet, not even Fudge’s. Remember what the twins said – the Ministry folks didn’t have Harry teaching them. DADA has not been properly taught for two generations, so where would one find enough wizards good at the subject to fill an entire bureaucracy? And tbh, it doesn’t seem necessary for many of the bureaucrats (ie. Dept of Magical Games and Sports) to be all that good at DADA. Basically, when staffing an organization of hundreds or thousands, let alone one that appears to be the main employer in a society, I don’t think it’s realistic to be as exacting as you suggest. (And P.S., the competence of the Aurors is very much up for debate – ahem, Dawlish.)
Scrimgeour gives big “Scar” energy, especially when he’s telling the wizarding public to Be Prepared…
He’s a classic tragic figure: the very traits that were (probably) why he was chosen as minister – inflexible, commanding, ruthless – actually make him terrible at the job.
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Umbridge probably got her sob-story in first (after being run out of Hogwarts in ignominy), which would make her ministry colleagues view any later complaints as attempts to smear her good character.
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The problem with collective action is that (per descriptions of Voldemort’s previous reign-of-terror) no-one knows whether they can trust anyone else. There’s polyjuice. There’s the imperius. There are straight-up traitors.
For example, do we know that Stan Shunpike had to be imperiused? (As far as I recall, it’s only Harry’s assumption). Disaffected youths have been radicalised before.
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While Harry might have been more amenable had he been pitched “training with the aurors” (rather than “photo ops”), I doubt Dumbledore would have been interested. Dumbledore doesn’t bother with training Harry magically to face Voldemort (Harry’s too far behind); he’s focused on preparing Harry emotionally.
Omg, yes, Scrimgeour the lion – it’s perfect! And it really was the coup of the century…
Re: Stan – Harry notices his “strangely blank face” (DH59), so I believe we are meant to believe that he is indeed Imperiused. But your point stands, and it’s a good one – I believe Lupin points out how effective Voldemort’s atmosphere of fear is, at sowing distrust among the wizarding society.
And I agree that Dumbledore wouldn’t have been terribly interested in Harry “training with aurors,” but I don’t think he would have been necessarily opposed. I think he would have shrugged, made sure Harry would be safe, and gone about his day.
I see Scrimgeour’s leadership style as very much in the mould of Crouch Sr.
(“If it doesn’t work the first time, try shouting.”)
He’s used to dealing with “dark wizards” (basically, criminals and terrorists) who keep secrets for nefarious reasons, so his instincts (trust but verify) are leading him entirely wrong with someone like Dumbledore. Dumbles has enough reputational credit that Scrimgeour begrudgingly lets him do his thing, but is not going to leave the fate of the world in the hands of some unproven teenagers.