I don't even think Pterry knows how Vetinari got to be Patrician, so I mean, anything from really detailed plotting out to *handwaviness* probably works, also considering the state of Discworld timeline and canon, as you have above noted. ;) Like, I think the problems can be traced to something that comes up in meta sometimes, which is that Pterry is trying to do a lot of benevolent dictatorshipping, which can work in a parody and all, but when you try to figure it out to fic about it can get a little, um, complicated to deal with. Vetinari is giving away power to balance out the nobility, but also trying to keep power for himself, while at the same time making sure all the scales stay balanced so it's better for everyone if he survive and etc etc etc.
It's the kind of character where it's easier to write the characters around him, the ones who are reacting to what he does, or are his pawns, because then you 1) don't have to write what he's actually doing in too much detail, and 2) pawns never see hte entire board, so it works better.
Which is probably a long way of saying: if Enjolras is working with Vetinari towards a common goal and then gets the revolution stolen out from under him, it would probably be simpler from his POV than Vetinari's ;) (but, uh, I think my sudden obsession with Enjolras is the most obvious thing ever). Vetinari's a really fascinating character, but, hmm. Enjolras and Vetinari both exist in a sort of "this character exists fine in fiction, but does not happen in the real world" space, but Enjolras to a somewhat lesser extent? They're both archetypes. I don't even know.
Maybe it comes down to motivations? Like, I know what Enjolras wants. Enjolras will be happy to tell you what he wants. And he will ruthlessly pursue it (because of Reasons, I made a list of Enjolras attributes. He's got things like ruthless, scary, principled, and also a good friend. He's not gonna stab you in the back. He gave that guy a minute to pray before he executed him. (Poor Javert. Enjolras won't waste a bullet on him, noooo, but he'll waste it on someone else.)
What does Vetinari want, though? The city to be safe and secure and not under the control of any other Patrician? That's kinda vague, and also leads right into Vetinari as benevolent dictator: for the city to be safe and secure, he has to be in charge, because he has to balance the scales, and he'll make sure everything works and the city functions. But, as you said, that's not *free*. That's the benevolent dictatorship problem: it's a dictatorship, but it's supposed to still be okay because the guy in charge is a good guy. But the structures are still in place for totalitarianism; Vetinari *is not actually helping the city*, because once Vetinari's gone, everything is going to collapse. Power abhores a vaccuum. For Ankh-Morpork to prosper in the long-term, Vetinari is not helping.
And I don't know where I'm going here (where did I start? oh, right), but I think Enjolras and Vetinari would get along VERY WELL right up until Vetinari tried to put some of his ideas into practice. Enjolras is violent, and here he's an assassin, but he's also the guy who said to Marius "hey, you're in charge!" after Marius saved the barricade. He's not really in love with being in charge, and he's morally opposed to people who are and who try to do something aobut it.
I think after Vetinari takes over, Enjolras is ANGRY AS FUCKING HELL, and then gets ANGRIER as Vetinari keeps putting in reforms that Enjolras agrees with, because he's co-opting the social movement for his selfish purposes. And while Enjolras is enough of a pragmatist, it still bothers the hell ot of him because Vetinari is using it to bolster his position, not to make the people free. The fact that it does help people is not Vetinari's goal, it's a side-effect.
But I think Vetinari is happy to keep Enjolras around. IT KEEPS VIMES ON HIS TOES.
no subject
It's the kind of character where it's easier to write the characters around him, the ones who are reacting to what he does, or are his pawns, because then you 1) don't have to write what he's actually doing in too much detail, and 2) pawns never see hte entire board, so it works better.
Which is probably a long way of saying: if Enjolras is working with Vetinari towards a common goal and then gets the revolution stolen out from under him, it would probably be simpler from his POV than Vetinari's ;) (but, uh, I think my sudden obsession with Enjolras is the most obvious thing ever). Vetinari's a really fascinating character, but, hmm. Enjolras and Vetinari both exist in a sort of "this character exists fine in fiction, but does not happen in the real world" space, but Enjolras to a somewhat lesser extent? They're both archetypes. I don't even know.
Maybe it comes down to motivations? Like, I know what Enjolras wants. Enjolras will be happy to tell you what he wants. And he will ruthlessly pursue it (because of Reasons, I made a list of Enjolras attributes. He's got things like ruthless, scary, principled, and also a good friend. He's not gonna stab you in the back. He gave that guy a minute to pray before he executed him. (Poor Javert. Enjolras won't waste a bullet on him, noooo, but he'll waste it on someone else.)
What does Vetinari want, though? The city to be safe and secure and not under the control of any other Patrician? That's kinda vague, and also leads right into Vetinari as benevolent dictator: for the city to be safe and secure, he has to be in charge, because he has to balance the scales, and he'll make sure everything works and the city functions. But, as you said, that's not *free*. That's the benevolent dictatorship problem: it's a dictatorship, but it's supposed to still be okay because the guy in charge is a good guy. But the structures are still in place for totalitarianism; Vetinari *is not actually helping the city*, because once Vetinari's gone, everything is going to collapse. Power abhores a vaccuum. For Ankh-Morpork to prosper in the long-term, Vetinari is not helping.
And I don't know where I'm going here (where did I start? oh, right), but I think Enjolras and Vetinari would get along VERY WELL right up until Vetinari tried to put some of his ideas into practice. Enjolras is violent, and here he's an assassin, but he's also the guy who said to Marius "hey, you're in charge!" after Marius saved the barricade. He's not really in love with being in charge, and he's morally opposed to people who are and who try to do something aobut it.
I think after Vetinari takes over, Enjolras is ANGRY AS FUCKING HELL, and then gets ANGRIER as Vetinari keeps putting in reforms that Enjolras agrees with, because he's co-opting the social movement for his selfish purposes. And while Enjolras is enough of a pragmatist, it still bothers the hell ot of him because Vetinari is using it to bolster his position, not to make the people free. The fact that it does help people is not Vetinari's goal, it's a side-effect.
But I think Vetinari is happy to keep Enjolras around. IT KEEPS VIMES ON HIS TOES.
tl;dr: Discworld needs a republican movement. :P