MoM Elections: The Debate – Part 2

Welcome back to part two of the coverage from this year’s Minister of Magic debate. You can catch up on the beginning of this performance here. Let’s dive right in.

Hermione Granger has called on the Wizengamot to separate judicial and legislative power. The case of underage magic brought to court by former Minister Cornelius Fudge against Harry Potter is the case Ms. Granger cites as being politically motivated – Fudge’s ability to vote on the outcome of his own case is, in Ms. Granger’s words, “illogical, at the very least.” Will the candidates separate judicial and legislative powers or continue to allow them to function as they have for 1,000 years?

Bianca Blishwick: The case against Harry Potter by Cornelius Fudge is an excellent example of why the juridical and legislative powers should be separated. History has shown time and time again that Ministers have made horrible decisions under the current setup, and it’s time for a change. This will prevent abuse of power and change the course of the Ministry’s path for the better.

Reggie Stump: I have said throughout my campaign that the magical government needs to bring our nation into the 21st century. What worked a thousand years ago may not work today. The government should strive to improve itself to benefit our citizenry. This has not happened at the pace that it should – leaps and bounds every few centuries do not work. Separating the judicial and legislative powers will help to provide a check and balance on the unfairness of our ancient laws. This is just the beginning of my plan to create a more fair government that benefits not only the so-called 1% but all of magical Britain, including those who do not yet have a say in their own government.

William Waverly: We must certainly look to prevent corruption and hypocrisy in government since our recent history has struggled greatly under such vices already!

How does the Ministry plan to combat the current political situations ongoing in the Muggle world and educate young Hogwarts students to properly prepare them to assimilate within the Muggle world to maintain the International Statute of Secrecy? Do you feel it’s important to keep young witches and wizards up to date on Muggle events to ensure they are well educated for when they are in the Muggle world? Do you feel Muggle Studies should be a required course due to these conditions?

Blishwick: All young witches and wizards should be educated on the issues of the Muggle world. One of the most important things to me as Minister would be to ensure the safety and education of all of our students, and I would do that through the creation of a separate school for Muggle-borns, to reduce conflict between the groups. Muggle Studies would be required at Hogwarts, and Muggle-born students would take a class on cultural differences between the Muggle and magical worlds.

Stump: The two worlds are too far separated – we must look at what Muggles have achieved without the blessing of magic. I daresay that in many ways they have pushed beyond what the wizarding world has achieved with their space programs, their strides in medicine, even their transportation systems. We need to understand how their advances have happened, and we need to study why they have succeeded when we have failed. The Muggle Studies program should be expanded upon, to include Muggle history as well as magical – we are living with the consequences of Muggle political decisions, as well as our own, and they affect all of us, Muggle and magical alike. Not only shall the Muggle Studies program be expanded, but also, I intend for a diverse population of new students to be involved – every child, both of human and non-human descent, involved with the magical community should be able to access the same quality education as witches and wizards. They need to understand their world. They need to be able to learn about both Muggle and magical worlds. We should expand upon the Muggle Studies program to include not just Muggle history but also Muggle science, Muggle medicine, and Muggle achievements. We can no longer rely upon our command of magic to provide a decisive advantage in all things. Our worlds are not as separate as we would like to believe.

Waverly: This is one area where I most adamantly agree with my opponent Reggie on… we must pay close attention to our Muggle neighbors and learn from them in all activities! We really can gain so much from paying closer attention to those delightful folk.

There you have it, folks! This completes our coverage on the debate for Minister of Magic. Remember to vote this November!