Borsk Fey'lya: Self-Serving Jerk or Pragmatist?

Having just finished Star by Star, I have some comments regarding the former Chief of State. Yes, Borsk was self-serving, always looking to secure and expand his own powerbase...but what politician DOESN'T do that once he/she is in office? Considering that the New Republic is/was a representative democracy, he couldn't just unilaterally decide what the government would do. Pro and anti-Jedi factions, war and accomodationist factions, all had an equal say regarding the YV invasion. Since you need a majority vote in a parlimentary system, it's a tight balancing act between different groups to get anything done. Compromise. It doesn't seem that Borsk had the same kind of "emergency war powers" that the President has via the Constitution (Lincoln took advantage that as Commander-in-Chief during the Civil War). If so, more could've been done sooner, but there was a clear devide between the government and the military. Added to the fact that Bothans are a paranoid, suspicious bunch as a species, and that there's still A LOT of leftover resentment towards humans from the other species the Empire f'd over, it's not surprising that Borsk and his fellow councilors didn't trust Leia's motives. Foolish, but realistic and understandable. I see him less as a villain than as a mediocre Bill Clinton-type, constantly keeping his position undefined without committing to one so as to retain any effectiveness at all. Comments? Rebuttals?

 

I think that Fey'lya showed honor in his death, but that doesn't mean that the entirety of his political career wasn't based on what was best for him. I think "self-serving jerk" describes him admirably.

JMA

 

What JMA said - he had an honorable death, but he was a self-serving jerk all the time before that. He's the guy you love to hate.

 

Jerk. Even his sacrifice wasn't for the good of others, it was just a ploy to repair his tarnished image. One that unfortunately worked.

 

He worked for the people, which just ended up with him disagreeing with the main characters a lot.

His weakness was an arrogance, but that wasnt all he was.

 

He was a politician ... And I don't know how much more insulting I can go beyond that.

 

He was a politician ... And I don't know how much more insulting I can go beyond that.

 

I hated Fey'lya. I'm glad he's dead. I don't recall seeing any "progress" whatsoever under his tutelage (although I'm not the biggest EU buff, so I could be wrong). I'm actually amazed that he met death "honorably." Some of my favorite passages in EU have been our heroes making him squirm (Especially Dark Force Rising).

Self Serving, Political, Greedy, Jerk. I don't believe he served the people. He served himself, and in the end, considering Bothan culture, I'm not sure if he had any other choice but to kill himself.

The Picnic

 

He worked for the people, which just ended up with him disagreeing with the main characters a lot.

When the chips were down he maneuvered to keep himself in power rather than defend the will of the people. What about when he chose to shrug off the Yuuzhan Vong invasion? How many people died because he didn't have the foresight to listen to Leia? Even at the end, the only reason he threw his hat into the ring with the Jedi was because he knew they were his last chance to maintain power.

Fey'lya never served anyone but himself, IMO.

JMA

 

He was a politician ...

That goes hand in hand with being a self-serving jerk. He was no true statesmen.

 

What about when he chose to shrug off the Yuuzhan Vong invasion? How many people died because he didn't have the foresight to listen to Leia?

Was he the only one? No. Europe did nothing about Hitler for a long time, too long. It just mirrors that.


And again, its the bias of who we see it from. Because he didnt listen to LEIA. Others had views, but the only one mentioned is Leia.

 

No. Europe did nothing about Hitler for a long time, too long. It just mirrors that.

I'm not even going to touch that, but let's just say that it could be successfully argued that they exhibit many of the same traits as Fey'lya.

JMA

 

Which is irellevent. My point is that just because something is ignored, doesnt make it something to slate them for.

And still, you wouldnt care if LEIA hadnt been disagreed with

 

My opinion? Borsky Baby was a politician. 'Nuff said.

Y'know, it always amazes me how we trust the running of our countries to a bunch of ppl we wouldn't really trust to run a local corner shop...

(I'm a cynic, politically!)

Btw, I always found the scenes of Borsky in AoC odd - in one he seems almost Jedi-phobic... (can't remember it exactly; books are at college, and I'm not!)

 

let's just say that it could be successfully argued that they exhibit many of the same traits as Fey'lya.

Agreed. I'd say that the EU (European Union not Expanded Universe) put very simply sucks

 

it sucks because it has a character who is believable as a self-serving politician?

 

Let's just put it this way. If I were a conscientious member of the Senate, I would have hired Boba Fett to splatter his furry hide all over the podium and then planted evidence that the Peace Brigade had contracted the hit.

Blowing himself and 25,000 Vong into oblivion after royally kriffing the job and getting trillions of his constituents killed was almost too good of an end for him.

 

i will agree with that - it was too good an end for him... and that's why he chose it.. to go out a hero. what self-serving person wouldn't if they had that option..


"i'm gonna be a martyr for the new republic even if i have to die trying!"

 

I love how you instantly sterotype him into always going for his own needs. Maybe he did it because he thought it was the best he could do?

 

Maybe he did it because he thought it was the best he could do?

Very true Reaperfett. Of course we will not know because the furball was blown into millions of pieces. I liked his change in SBS. I never thought he would change.

 

Ahh, that "blow himself up schtick" was just a ploy to have the GFFA remember him as a hero. Which they do now.

 

Blowing the building up and leaving would have done the same thing.


Also, he wanted Lah down there. Had he killed Lah, noone would have known he had planned it.

 

Speaking of that, how much of the palace was destroyed again?

 

Pretty much the whole shebang.

Maybe he did it because he thought it was the best he could do?

Kinda late in the game for that. Best he could have done was let Kre'fey and the Jedi go to town after Helska. The fact that Neville Chamberlain declared war on Nazi Germany doesn't negate the fact that he handed them Austria and Czechloslovakia on a platter beforehand. Before his "noble sacrifice," Borsk kissed half the civilized galaxy goodbye in the hope that it might save his hide.

No, Fey'lya bought the furry farm because he saw his own power and historical reputation as paramount. His motivations for trying to take out Lah were purely spiteful - an attempt to take the guy who wrecked his party down with him and his capital.

 

He says it himself

"History will remember me as the man who lost Coruscant"

So to negate this image as much as possible he blew himself up with a bunch of Vong, it was all about his public image. I've never seen him do anything for any other reason so I have no reason to think he did it for any noble reasons