Garak, secret dissident?

[Dal Rassak]

I'm basing this impression on the incident at the end of the episode Profit and Loss, where he shoots a Cardassian military officer in order to give the dissident professor and her students a chance to get away. He then explains to Quark that he did it out of love for his homeworld.

This says quite plainly to me that he sympathises with the dissidents. The actor who played him certainly seemed to have it in his head that Garak was something of a reformist.
What does everybody else think?

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Being exiled from Cardassia meant that he was pretty much disenchanted with his own government. And originally coming from the Obsidian Order his opinion of the Central Command probably wasn't very high to begin with.

But he seemed more of a cynic rather than an idealist.

 

[od0_ital]

Garak was the ultimate patriot - everything he did, when presented with the opportunity to do so, was to improve Cardassia.

If that meant he had to help civilian rabblerousers, he helped them, as he did in 'Profit and Loss'.

If it meant he had to help the military, he helped them, as he did in 'Way of the Warrior' (warnin' Dukat of the Klingon invasion and helpin' Dukat defend the council) and the Final Chapter (goin' with Kira & Odo to work with Damar).

He didn't pick a side or have a set agenda, except to help Cardassia as a whole, and to get back to it.

 

[WesleysDisciple]

In the novels for what thats worth, it seemst o suggest he helps build a more democratic government on cardassia.

But even then mostly because he feels a "Restoration" of cardassias previous government would be returning them tot he path that brought htem to this pile of rubble.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Garak was the ultimate patriot - everything he did, when presented with the opportunity to do so, was to improve Cardassia.

If that meant he had to help civilian rabblerousers, he helped them, as he did in 'Profit and Loss'.

If it meant he had to help the military, he helped them, as he did in 'Way of the Warrior' (warnin' Dukat of the Klingon invasion and helpin' Dukat defend the council) and the Final Chapter (goin' with Kira & Odo to work with Damar).

He didn't pick a side or have a set agenda, except to help Cardassia as a whole, and to get back to it.

Of course "helping Cardassia" is subjective. It's whatever he currently sees as the direction Cardassia needs to be tweaked. Mix in his need for self preservation and you have a character whose agendas are not always easy to pinpoint, which is what makes him so great.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Garak was a cynical idealist.

He wanted Cardassia to become this utopian peaceful planet. But he had no expectation of anybody making it that way.

 

[heavy lids]

Nope, just a true son of Cardassia.

 

[Pondwater]

Nope, just a true son of Cardassia.

Precisely.