History Main / PromotedToScapegoat

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' does this a few times...
** The title "[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Lord]] of [[WhiteElephant Harrenhal]]" should actually be read "[[SchmuckBait Gotcha, Sukka]]!". Gaining it... [[HighTurnoverRate rarely bodes well]] for those "promoted" to it, thanks to the complex sociopolitical makeup of the Riverlands practically guaranteeing you'll make you or your family a handy scapegoat for King's Landing down the line. This pattern repeats: from Maegor and the Lothstones down to the poor Slynts and the Baratheon-Lannister regime. There is also the fact Harrenhal is cursed and every House that gains it ends up going extinct.

* Admiral Dönitz from the ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' sketch ''The New Fuhrer'' is thrilled [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII to have been promoted as Fuhrer, rather oblivious to his headquarters being under fire]], and eager to implement his ideas about pensions and the housing shortage. It lasts until his second in command gives him the items he needs to take his first decision: a tactical review of the dismal position of their armies "summed up [[ParentheticalSwearing in one rude word]]"; General Eisenhower's phone number; and a written translation of 'We give up' in English. He ''does'' get a (half-hearted) "Heil Dönitz" for his troubles, though.

* ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'': Following [[TheEmperor Darth Krayt]]'s apparent death, the ambitious Moff Morlish Veed is appointed Regent of the Sith Empire by Krayt’s DragonAscendant, Darth Wyyrlok. Veed quickly learns that the position makes him a glorified scapegoat: if the Sith do something truly horrible -- like wiping out all life on an inhabited planet using a SyntheticPlague -- then people will assume ''he'' gave the order to do it, and the galaxy's outrage will be directed toward him instead of his Sith masters.

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne the German Supreme High Command basically took over the country as a military dictatorship, with a two-to-four-man Junta based around Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff serving as the country's ''de facto'' leadership. On realizing that the war was lost, however, they handed over power to a civilian government which was forced to agree to the unpopular terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Hindenburg and Ludendorff then promoted the idea that an undefeated Germany had been stabbed in the back by those same civilians, a myth eagerly taken up by the Nazis.

* Likewise, Admiral Kantaro Suzuki became prime minister of Japan in the final days of UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo. He was an octogenarian naval hero from the Russo-Japanese War forty years prior and a long-time moderate politician (which made him the target of several assassination attempts). As prime minister, his only job was to arrange Japan's surrender to the Allies.

* On ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Azula allows Zuko to take credit for [[spoiler:killing Aang]], which allows him to return home with his honor restored... because she's not entirely confident that [[spoiler:Aang's dead]], and doesn't want to be the one who gets blamed if [[spoiler:the Avatar turns up alive]].

* [[Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures The Dying Days]], similar to the "Yes, Minister" example below describes Home Secretary as being this, saying the Party gangs up on you whenever anything goes wrong and the public blames you for everything.

* At the end of the ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' arc "Dangerous Days", [=HeretiCorp=] research scientist Chen gets promoted just as the corporation comes under federal investigation.

** When Buggy is [[BadassOnPaper mistakenly believed to be the leader of Cross Guild]], [[spoiler:Crocodile and Mihawk both]] are enraged at the idea before they realize it means most of the attention will be on Buggy rather than on them and that they should all roll with it.

* ''FanFic/ConversationsWithACryptid'' posits that this is why [[PsychopathicManChild Shigaraki]] was set up to be the heir of [[TheDreaded All for One]]'s criminal empire. All for One wanted to retire, and planned to hand his operation over Shigaraki so he'd go make a big mess, get caught, and be taken for the leader, while All for One slipped away quietly because everyone thought that Shigaraki was the person behind everything. It didn't quite work because of a (canon) SpannerInTheWorks --a random civilian informed the police of the location of Shigaraki's hideout, meaning that he nearly got busted before he could inherit ''anything'', and All for One had to personally bail him out.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]

* The plan of the villainous Leona Humpford and Louis Stoole from ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfWillyBeamish'' involves hiring and promoting Willy's father Gordon to be the head of HR of the Tootsweet Corporation...right before a plumber's strike sends the company down the tubes.

* At the end of the ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' arc "Dangerous Days", [=HeretiCorp=] research scientist Chen gets promoted just as the corporation comes under federal investigation

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne the German Supreme High Command basically took over the country as a military dictatorship, with a two-to-four-man Junta based around Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff serving as the country's ''de facto'' leadership. On realizing that the war was lost, however, they handed over power to a civilian government which was forced to agree to the unpopular terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Hindenburg & Ludendorff then promoted the idea that an undefeated Germany had been stabbed in the back by those same civilians, a myth eagerly taken up by the Nazis.

A character has just been promoted to a position within his workplace that he is very clearly unqualified for, as part of some scheme by the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive higher ups]] or because no one else is stupid enough to take the job. They may even get promoted on their [[NewJobEpisode very first day]] of a new job without having any experience. This may be because the job has a HighTurnoverRate, or because it's extremely dangerous, or the character could be being used for something more malicious. The person who receives the promotion will usually never suspect that there is anything fishy going on, despite their lack of credentials.

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne the German Supreme High Command basically took over the country as a military dictatorship, with a two-to-four-man Junta based around Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorf serving as the country's ''de facto'' leadership. On realizing that the war was lost, however, they handed over power to a civilian government which was forced to agree to the unpopular terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Hindenburg & Ludendorff then promoted the idea that an undefeated Germany had been stabbed in the back by those same civilians, a myth eagerly taken up by the Nazis.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cliff glass cliff]] is a phenomenon derived in part by the exploitation of this trope regarding appointing women in higher positions. A male-dominated company finds itself in a crisis and/or having to implemenet unpopular policies in the future so they nominate a woman to its highest leadership role. If the new leader can navigate the crisis and remain popular, perfect. If she (most likely) cannot, then the company replaces her with another man, thus managing to look more progressive for simply having tried and citing the previous leader's failure as "proof" that women don't make good leaders.

Note that this trope is only for when there seems to be some kind of ulterior motive for the promotion. Somebody who desperately assumes a role because nobody qualified is available if the ClosestThingWeGot. A person who is too highly positioned for their level of competence (due to either ThePeterPrinciple or TheDilbertPrinciple) is a PointyHairedBoss. A person who receives a promotion simply to get them out of the way is KickedUpstairs. Placing a relative in an important position is {{Nepotism}}.

* French Marshal Pétain falls into this trope as well. He was recalled from his post as ambassador to Franco's Spain to become the prime minister only when it became clear that France was hopelessly beaten. In fact, Pétain told Franco in parting that his job was to make the best of the mess that other politicians had created. While he was (pretty fairly) castigated after the war for overseeing The Third Republic's dissolution and replacement with the dictatorial State of France, actively making significant contributions to the German war effort (to the point that the French economy ''shrank'' under the strain of reparations and armaments- and food-exports to Germany), enthusiatically participating in the Jewish Holocaust, and ruthlessly suppressing domestic dissent... he had initially been placed in a situation where avoiding some sort of blame would have been next to impossible.

* French Marshal Pétain falls into this trope as well. He was recalled from his post as ambassador to Franco's Spain to become the prime minister only when it became clear that France was hopelessly beaten. In fact, Pétain told Franco in parting that his job was to make the best of the mess that other politicians had created. While he was (pretty fairly) castigated after the war for overseeing The Third Republic's dissolution and replacement with the dictatorial State of France, actively making significant contributions to the German war effort (to the point that the French economy ''shrank'' under the strain of reparations and armaments- and food-exports to Germany), and ruthlessly suppressing domestic dissent... he had initially been placed in a situation where avoiding some sort of blame would have been next to impossible.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cliff glass cliff]] is a phenomenon derived in part by the exploitation of this trope regarding appointing women in higher positions. A male-dominated company finds itself in a crisis and/or having to implemenet unpopular policies in the future so they nominate a woman to its highest leadership role. If the new leader can navigate the crisis and remain popular. If she (most likely) cannot, then the company replaces her with another man, thus managing to look more progressive for simply having tried and citing the previous leader's failure as "proof" that women don't make good leaders.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cliff glass cliff]] is a phenomenon derived in part by the exploitation of this trope regarding appointing minorities in higher positions. A mostly white male-dominated company finds itself in a crisis so they nominate a woman or minority to its highest leadership role. If the new leader can navigate the crisis, perfect. If they (most likely) cannot, then the company manages to look more progressive for simply having tried and goes back to its discriminatory practices citing the previous leader's failure as "proof" that minorities don't make good leaders.

** Subverted: "A Pest in the House" had Daffy Duck as a hotel porter making a guest's attempt to sleep utterly futile to where the guest gets up, goes to lobby and socks manager Elmer Fudd in the nose. In the final time, Elmer promotes Daffy to manager and dons the Porter cap. The guest winds up...and punches Elmer again.

** In "Party Games" when Hacker is convinced by Bernard that being Chancellor or Foreign Secretary would make him unpopular he is asked by Bernard if he wants the job in the middle, meaning Prime Minister. Initially thinking he means Home Secretary Hacker comments he'd be responsible for all the muggings, jailbreaks and race riots in the country.
** In another episode where the Prime Minister plans to close down Hacker's Department Hacker is told there is talk he may be made the Minister responsible for Industrial Harmony. Hacker comments with horror that this means every strike in the country will be his fault.[[labelnote:Explanation]]This episode came out in 1980, when strikes were a very frequent part of British society.[[/labelnote]]

** After Charloss, a [[AristocratsAreEvil Celestial Dragon]], thwarts the Straw Hats' attempt to buy their new friend Caimie's freedom and shoots Hachi(a former enemy who [[TheAtoner tried to make amends with the Straw Hats]]), Luffy is enraged and punches Charloss out, bringing down the wrath of the Celestial Dragons upon him. When Disco, owner of the slave auction, calls his boss Doflamingo to tell him what happened and that the Celestial Dragons will blame those running the slave auction, Doflamingo gives Disco ownership of the shop, saying it's no longer useful to him.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', after Charloss, a [[AristocratsAreEvil Celestial Dragon]], thwarts the Straw Hats' attempt to buy their new friend Caimie's freedom and shoots Hachi(a former enemy who [[TheAtoner tried to make amends with the Straw Hats]]), Luffy is enraged and punches Charloss out, bringing down the wrath of the Celestial Dragons upon him. When Disco, owner of the slave auction, calls his boss Doflamingo to tell him what happened and that the Celestial Dragons will blame those running the slave auction, Doflamingo gives Disco ownership of the shop, saying it's no longer useful to him.

Note that this trope is only for when there seems to be some kind of ulterior motive for the promotion. A person who is too highly positioned for their level of competence (due to either ThePeterPrinciple or TheDilbertPrinciple) is a PointyHairedBoss. A person who receives a promotion simply to get them out of the way is KickedUpstairs. Placing a relative in an important position is {{Nepotism}}.

If the character manages to achieve more -- or do worse -- with their new position than the higher-ups ever expected, see ApparentlyPowerlessPuppetmaster and ReassignmentBackfire.

->''"Well, they were hardly gonna give me the job when everything was going really ''well'', were they?"''

* The Democratic-Republican party officially made Aaron Burr their presidential campaign manager in 1800 (and their secondary candidate) specifically so that they could scapegoat him for anything they did during that election that might damage their PR (such as cutting a deal with the Federalists to increase their chances of winning.) It worked.

** In another episode where the Prime Minister plans to close down Hacker's Department Hacker is told there is talk he may be made the Minister responsible for Industrial Harmony. Hacker comments with horror that this means every strike in the country will be his fault, this episode came out in 1980 when strikes were a very frequent part of British society.