How much impact did she make on Valorum's downfall? I mean it was a vote process, but it was started by her because she was mad at the inefficiency of the chancellor during the Naboo blockade. It looks like many senators were not pleased with the chancellor already, Padme's call just gave them the chance to do so. But how much blame should Padme take in this case? Did she help Palpatine to win the election by introduce him?
Padme was smart. Chancellor Valorum was corrupt and unfit. NOT like Palpatine. HE'S soft and smooth and.....oh wait.
Yes, unwillingly she did that. It was one of the hardest choices in her mandate, I think even harder than the decision of the battle of Naboo. Padme is loyal and Chancellor Vallorum indeed was their hardest supporter. He tried to help them, sending the two Jedi at Naboo, etc. The speech of the queen in the Senate was also settled by him. Padme didn’t want to betray him that way, but she has to choose between her people ad his supporting. But he has not so much real power actually. You see, the queen eve couldn't finish her speech, because the TF senators insisted that these accusations should be investigated by committee. It was an absurd, because she was there as the ruler of the Naboo and this fact should be enough to proove what is going on there. But again, the Senate was stacked in procedures by the TF senators and this means that the crisis would continue. Padme was desperate. So, Palpatine offered her a solution or, more precisely said, he tempted her. She succeeded in the end, because of Obi Wan, of Qui Gon, of the Gungans and of course, of Anakin, but she paid with this deviation from her own principles. As the devil was whispering in her ear, this act wasn't innocent. Yes, Padme succeeds to fulfill her purposes with the help of her friends but in that moment she was desperate, alone and she was thinking of her people's suffering so she followed this "advice" but she was not very happy to do that, you can see it even under her makeup. But you can see also that Palpatine did his moves in a very smart way. He looked so noble, so uninterested in the power; only in the good of his people… He never accused directly Valorum. He said that Senate had changed (full of greedy delegates) he said that there are BASELESS accusation of corruption towards the Chancellor (but baseless or not they weakened his power, etc.) So Palpatine proposes the vote as 'last resort" or they should go to the Court ad this is even more desperate. Padme tried to stay honest and loyal but in the end she had to choose between Naboo and Valorum. As you can see, this vote didn't resolve Naboo problems (or at least not immediately and she has no time to wait) so she decided to go back and to fight.
Padme doesn't deserve any blame in her role in what happened in TPM. She did what she thought was right for her people. She gave Valorum a chance to help her and when she saw that she was in fact naive, she decided to act accordingly. Her being used by Palpatine doesn't put any of the blame on Padme.
Palpatine never mentioned his background manoeuvring and manipulation to get himself nominated as replacement nor did Padme have any particular reason to suspect he would - her focus is entirely on her planet and it's people and as said, Valorum just wasn't going to be able to help with that (again thanks to deals and plots instigated by Palpatine via the Trade Union, and again that Padme could not possibly know about.) She did what was best for the people she represented and whilst she did indeed end up helping Palpatine become elected I have no doubt had she resisted or lacked the conviction to go through with it (highly unlikely but theoretically possible) old Sheev would have had other lackeys he could have used to force the same result. Not to mention that by then returning to Naboo and overthrowing the military occupation far ahead of schedule she actually became the first person we know of to foil Palpatine's scheming at all, even if he rebounded pretty quickly.
I must say that I don‘t blame her at all, as she couldn‘t know what is going on, actually. But yes, she helped Palpatine without knowing about that. He used her as later he used her representative Jar Jar, as he used the Jedi Order, Anakin, etc. What would change if Padme didn‘t propose the vote? Well, for Naboo nothing, actually. If she accepted the comittee, of course they would be lost and should accept the oppression of the TF, but I‘m talking about the case, when she just refuses the comitte and walks away. She still had to accept the battle, but she wouldn‘t be Padme, if she didn‘t try to change the things in a better direction. So Palpatine uses that strenght of Padme as it is a weakness. It is indeed diabolic, remember the scene where he is whispering in her ear in the Senate. Almost like Eve and the snake. But Palpatine didn‘t succeed it completely. Yes, he become a Chancellor but has to wait years to build his momentum. And it was because Padme served to a noble cause (a difference from Anakin and the Jedi Order who were betrayed by their fears).
What was Palpatine's original plan? Padme wasn't supposed to escape, then how would he have used the situation to climb to the top?
The crisis would become harder and harder. Or the committee (if accepted) would report that Naboo is falling apart or if not accepted, the Nabooans would sign the treaty or he thought that would be made to. In both cases that means change of the supreme governor of the Republic because this crisis would affect the center also, not only the periphery of Naboo. And who would be elected to solve the problem? Palpatine of course. But I think Palpatine had even bigger plan: to force the political changes that in Ep.3 leaded to the foundation of the Empire. Is not that during TPM times he had some chance to become an Emperor but he would be closer to the throne of the crisis of Naboo wasn't resolved so fast.
I interpret Palpatine's original plan as one meant to design an escalating crisis on Naboo with which to spotlight the ineffectiveness of the Republic leadership, thus inciting, as we learn later, the desire for a separatist movement amongst other systems, right? Then, in the midst of that, run for the office of Supreme Chancellor - which, as we saw, he was set to win. And since it's all we can do to answer your question, I can only imagine it's safe to assume Palpatine was either willing to wait until Valorum's term had expired to run (the books state Valorum's term was nearing it's end, iirc), or perhaps one could propose that Palpatine would've convinced one of his friends in the Senate to eventually motion a Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum. But, as it is, Amidala escaping (w/out signing treaty) and presenting her case to the Senate (thanks to Valorum and the Jedi) provided an ideal opportunity for Palpatine to suggest that she do so at that moment. Which she only did when she saw that Valorum folded to the bureaucracy. Ultimately, we have Palpatine's plan come to fruition; him stepping into Chancellorhood while the Galaxy & the Senate are both primed for growing unrest. He had maneuvered things cunningly enough, so that no matter how much his strategies had to adapt, either way... he wins. So, you're asking if Palpatine becoming Chancellor is Padme's fault, right? Well, as important as it is to realize she was the crucial linchpin to his original plan -- he intended for her to sign the treaty, thus handcuffing the Republic leadership, but instead she ultimately motioned for the impeachment of Valorum -- it's not her fault, nor did she help him get elected. I imagine he would've become Chancellor soon enough. She just expedited it. And yeah, as others have pointed out, she did what she had to for the freedom of her people and she successfully deviated from Sidious' puppet strings. He underestimated the wrong young Queen. She was the unaccounted-for thorn in his side that And it's not like none of Sidious' ultimate plan wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Padme specifically. But then again, if it wasn't for her, Qui-Gon wouldn't have found Anakin. But! with that said, it's only fitting that it was her who motioned for the No Confidence vote. And that her stand-in motioned for the Emergency Powers. And that it was the assassination attempts on her that led Kenobi and the Jedi to the Clone Army. And that it was the fear of her death that led Anakin to go Dark and become the Imperial Enforcer. Not only for the interesting story, but also when paralleling the saga with, say, ancient Kabbalah. Which teaches that the empires of misguided religions and their wars are established an built upon the suppression of the Divine Feminine. Whether Sidious intended it or not, all of the major steps leading to his Empire were taken with Amidala as the cornerstone. But later, she, represented by the hope she had (which helped defeat Sidious), is raised up as the capstone of the Alliance and the subsequent New Republic. It's like Luke & Leia are her avatars in the OT, and... even Vader's breath represents the hope in her last words. Even 3P0 is like Anakin's pre-emptive mole. Padme was the ultimate unaccounted-for thorn in Sidious' side that led to his undoing.
I think Padme deserves some blame. I don't think anyone would have voted against Valorum (at least not as soon) if she wouldn't have petitioned for the vote of no confidence. I think she should have seen through Palpatine. I don't completely blame her though -- Valorum wasn't doing much good there and she wasnt' trying to get a Sith elected...
