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Citizens of Ankh-Morpork often wondered who would be the next Patrician if Lord Vetinari died.* Every citizen had their own theory.
One of the most popular guesses was Moist von Lipwig.** He was certainly charismatic and ambitious enough for it. He had proven he could be a good leader, run things smoothly, and do good for the city. Sure, he used to be a conman, but who had ever heard of an honest politician?
The main argument against this theory was that Moist liked to gamble. It was one thing to gamble with a failing business on the line, but it was another thing to bet the whole city away on a whim. One day, he may make a bet he couldn’t win, and things would go awry. And that wasn’t even mentioning the possibility of him making a promise he couldn’t keep to the wrong person.
Many believed the next Patrician would be none other than The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes.^ He had knowledge of the city, knowledge of the laws, and ran the Watch smoothly enough. He was already one of the most important men in the city and hadn’t lost his mind because of it, which was always a good sign.
The argument against him was that he didn’t have the charisma for it. It was true that Vetinari wasn’t charismatic in the way Moist was, for example, but he still had a presence to him. When he walked into a room everyone noticed. When he spoke everyone listened. Such was not always true about Commander Vimes.
Besides, Vetinari still maintained an amount of decorum and diplomacy that Vimes rarely bothered with.
Some would even suggest William de Worde as a potential candidate.^^ He too ran an organization smoothly, and he always knew what was going on in the city. He could ask the right questions, find the right answers, and do the right things.
Most people didn’t think about William enough to have an argument against this. Yes, everyone knew his name and knew he mattered to the city, but his name rarely appeared in the news without being prefaced with the words “article written by.”
In general, the theory was discounted because it was less exciting than the others. In truth, they had a point. William had even less of a noticeable presence than Vimes. That was great for getting news, but not for being a tyrant.
There were other theories too. Maybe it would be Lord Rust or even Nobby Nobs. There was even one person who was very insistent Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler would be perfect for the job, although no one could tell if they were joking or not.
What the citizens failed to realize was that it didn’t matter.
Moist, Vimes, and William were the most likely candidates. They were all already clever and powerful men. The important thing, however, was the way they kept each other in check.
Moist and Vimes were the most obvious in the ways they kept the other in line.
If Moist ever traveled a bit too far outside the law, or chose to do something a bit too destructive, he’d have to answer to Vimes.
On the other hand, Moist made sure the law wasn’t all that had power. If Vimes got a bit too authoritarian, Moist had proven he could find some clever way to get him out of power. At the same time, Moist was living proof to Vimes that people could change, and that the law wasn’t all that was good.
William was a special case. He kept both the others in check by having his journalists write down exactly what they said. It held them accountable.
The other thing about William was that he had remained remarkably optimistic for someone living in Ankh-Morpork. Deep down, he wanted to believe that if everyone knew every truth, everyone would be kind and good.
This was fine, mostly because Moist and Vimes were cynical enough for him. They also provided the insurance that on the off chance William got too greedy and started to lie, he would have to answer to them both.
Which of them would be the next Patrician didn’t matter. Whoever it was, they’d have to answer to the other two. None of them would ever have absolute power.
And on the off chance it was someone else, they’d have to answer to all three of them. Dealing with one was difficult enough. If you somehow screwed up enough to get them to work together to take you down, you would be doomed.
Vetinari had not picked a successor. He had picked three.
*And that was a very big if according to the citizens, though those who were more familiar with Vetinari were at least 97% sure he would eventually.
**Of course, anyone who knew Moist well knew he would become a flight risk if Vetinari so much as hinted towards him being the next Patrician. However, that didn’t mean he’d actually succeed at getting out of it.
^Much like Moist, Vimes would hate this idea. Instead of running, he would be more likely to just firmly refuse. That still didn’t mean he would get out of it.
^^William would likely make many clever arguments in an attempt to prove him being the next Patrician was a bad idea. Again, that wouldn’t necessarily be enough to get out of it.