Worst Politician in Westeros

[998]

Every lord except Tywin.

[Aeneys]

3. Doran Martell. Congratulations. Your heir believes you intend to disinherit her and is ready to rebel, you send your second-in-line on a suicide mission requiring skills the boy doesn't have, you failed to ensure the safety of the girl betrothed to your third-in-line-heir, risking the marriage and provoking the Iron Throne, you had your impulsive brother killed in a duel, your nieces want to rebell, and most of Dorne considers you a weak leader. Your plans have led Dorne to the brink of a civil war. Meanwhile your sworn enemies lives and die without reserving a second thought for you. You are irrelevant as an enemy and dangerous as an ally.

Doran Martell? Really?? If he’s a bad politician for not explaining his plans properly to others, I beg you to put Jon on the list as well. I don’t think it’s either of their faults they are surrounded by short-sighted idiots.

[Shane the Llama]

3. Cersei Lannister: Robb almost took this spot, but he at least had the right idea with his attempts to forge alliances with the Vale and the Ironborn. Cersei, on the other hand, gave the Faith a vast army centered right in King's Landing, enabling her imprisonment. Sure, she'll survive her trial, but only thanks to Qyburn's work with Gregor's corpse, which she did not know of beforehand. Basically, she got lucky.

2. Balon Greyjoy: Balon's history as a ruler is a chronicle of unmitigated failures. It begins when Robert's Rebellion does. The Kingdoms are at war, and every single army in the realm has been weakened, with the exception of the Tyrells' (which is still not a threat, as they were occupied with the siege of Storm's End) and Balon's own. He could have legitimately taken either side in the Rebellion, and either way there were a number of excellent targets for the Ironborn. He could have led his people against any section of Westeros' western coast, or, if he wanted something his people could hold with less difficulty, there were several islands ripe for the taking. If he wanted to attack the North, there was Bear Island (admittedly not the most tempting prize). However, the Reach was relatively undefended, and its army was far too distant to mount a counterattack against the west coast. Balon could have assembled the Iron Fleet and sailed on the Shield Isles and the Arbor. Given that those lands are all islands, Robert would probably be willing to grant them to whoever held them after his victory. Alternatively, Balon could have simply sacked Oldtown, which likely contained several times more wealth than the entirety of Balon's domain. Instead, he decided to wait until the realm was united behind a single ruler once again, after several years of peace to replenish the armies. That, he decided, was the perfect time to launch his attack.

Basically, he was a dumbass.

1. Aerys II: The Mad King was understandably paranoid after the events at Duskendale. It made sense that he would be somewhat unbalanced by his captivity. However, his actions went far beyond the folly of a traumatized mind. To begin with, he deliberately and consistently antagonized one of his strongest and most able vassals, the man who had successfully managed his realm for more than a decade. Aerys also thought it was a good idea to turn one of the greatest swordsmen in the realm, one of his personal bodyguard, irrevocably against him. And just to top it all off, he executed not only the son and heir of another hugely powerful lord, he killed the lord himself, along with the heir of another great lord and several less significant members of the nobility. Aerys singlehandedly ended a dynasty that had spanned the centuries, and managed to forever taint its name.