Ned Stark. Game of Thrones. Photo: lalineadefuego. All rights reserved.
The second round of the elections in Ecuador, on April 2, brings to my memory a crucial scene in the plot of Game of Thrones. This is not an original idea of mine, but political scientist Héctor Meleiro’s – in Winning or losing: political lessons from Game of Thrones (2014) -, which I have come to call "the parable of Ned Stark." Ned is the head of an illustrious House living in an imaginary world. This House is vassal to the King of the Seven Kingdoms, by the name of Robert Baratheon. In addition to being a feudatory, Ned is Robert's close friend. For this reason, and because Ned is a pure, noble, just and honest man, he is summoned to King's Landing, the Seven Kingdom’s capital city, to be appointed Hand of the King - that is, the sovereign’s highest-ranking counselor.
The first decision that Ned has to make is as difficult as the one Ecuadorians have to make on April, 2: he must choose between killing a rival, Daenerys Targarien, or let her live. These are the arguments for each option: Daenerys intends to raise a powerful army to take over King's Landing and restore her royal lineage, for her ancestors had ruled that land in the past; so, she must die now that the conditions are right. However, at this stage Daenerys is a helpless woman, confined to the other side of the Narrow Sea, a hard to cross natural border; it is unlikely that she can achieve her goal, so killing her is really a waste of time and resources.
