Narrator: With the situation on Naboo deteriorating rapidly, Queen Amidala traveled to Coruscant to persuade the Senate to intervene in person. She was met on the platform by Palpatine, her representative in the Senate, and also an unexpected surprise.
HANDMAIDEN: When we landed, we were very surprised to see Supreme Chancellor Valorum waiting fo us in person - quite an honor for our little queen. Though he made assurances that our situation would be solved, he seemed tense and on edge, as though something was troubling him.
Narrator: Something was troubling the Chancellor: rumors had been flitting throughout the Senate Chamber for weeks that Valorum had backed the trade legislation because his business interests stood to make large profits from the downfall of the Trade Federation. Valorum had taken the high moral road and ignored the accusations, going about business as usual. It was a fatal mistake for the experienced politician.
*(name to be determined), Coruscant Leadership Academy: Valorum's decision to ignore the accusations was typical of his arrogance. He believed, somewhat naively as some have argued, that the problem would just go away if he didn't address it...But of course the reaction was just the opposite. A lot of Senators interpreted his silence on the issue as guilt, which Valorum's opponents of course took full advantage of. The whispering in back hallways grew louder, and criticism of Valorum got louder, more offensive. It was obvious to everyone that his downfall was only a matter of time, that as soon as the opposition had gotten organized a no-confidence vote would be called and someone more politically desirable would be brought in.
*PALPATINE'S AIDE (alien language): For about a week before Amidala arrived on Coruscant, Palpatine ran us ragged. We were trying to get support from everywhere, even the people who had voted against his proposal for a Galactic Palpatine Day. Not a lot of them came around, but we did get a few. The general mood was pretty upbeat. We figured we were doing at least as well as everyone else.Gara Houlan, Opposition Leader: Palpatine's move was completely unexpected. While he moves with unconcealed ambition, we are still struggling to reconcile differences amongt our factions. I fear that they are being too stubborn; they cannot see that Palpatine is no improvement over Valorum.
Narrator: Unable to resolve disputes between ambitious Senators angling to increase their personal glory, it looked like Palpatine would get his way. But unexpectedly, the immensely popular but usually reserved Bail Antilles of Alderaan was persuaded by his aides to run for the office. Antilles' famous name was very attractive to those seeking both to thwart Palpation while still removing Valorum from office. The opposition parties quickly rallied around Antilles, and Palpatine knew that he was in trouble unless he could come up with a way to divert votes from his Alderaanian rival.
