A matter of conflict

About two, three days ago it became clear that there are some deep conflicts within the university. A number of very senior people at the university declared that they had no confidence for the rectrix magnifica and asked for her resignation.
For a lot of people this came as a shock, it even made it to the tabloids, which is not usual for anything that has to do with academia. A lot of people speculate about what lies at the heart of this conflict. Because unfortunately the people that has asked for the resignation of the rectrix magnifica have not detailed their critique.
I know some people who stand by the rectrix magnifica and I know some people among the ”mutineers” and it is very difficult to decide who to support if any. But I have some thoughts about this conflict based on in my view, rational analysis of the data.
One theory is that there is a ”conspiracy” behind this protest against the rectrix magnifica and that it is based on the fact that she is not originally from Uppsala University, or that she is a woman. A second theory is that there are personal differences behind the protest. A third theory is that rectrix magnifica just isn't doing a good job.
Concerning the second theory I would say that it is unlikely that personal differences can result in such a broad opposition. Generally personal differences are between a small number of individuals. The personal differences between the different individuals can be problematic but most of the people are not concerned. If the reason of the conflict is personal differences the rectrix magnifica has been able to rub a lot of people the wrong way and it is unlikely that it is not her fault. We have a saying in Sweden: that it is not one persons fault if two people argue. But if twenty people are arguing with one person, it is actually likely to be the fault of that one individual. Even if it is only personal differences behind all of this it is bad enough to make me think that the rectrix magnifica is the wrong person for the job.
The first theory that there is some sort of conspiracy behind the opposition is interesting from a sceptical point of view. As a skeptic I have heard quite a lot of conspiracy theories and they are always interesting. The question that we have to ask ourselves is if it is likely that so many senior officials at the university would be involved in a conspiracy to remove the rectrix magnifica, because she is a woman or because she is not from Uppsala. I can't help but find it unlikely. So if it is not a conspiracy perhaps it is a structure? Maybe it is just the culture at Uppsala University that a female rectrix magnifica or an outsider is not accepted. It is true that culture form ideas and shape behaviour but it is hard to believe that this is the case here. I was not prepared to believe that she got the position because she is a woman and I am not prepared to think that people now ask for her resignation because she is a woman. Of course I would change my belief if some sort of evidence is presented for such a structural bias among the ”mutineers”.
The third theory, that rectrix magnifica is not doing a good job is difficult to consider without a presentation of the critique against her. The only thing that I can say is that it is not unheard of that the wrong person get a job. I have heard stories about all kind of bosses that have done a bad job just to be promoted or move on to a new better job, just so that people can get rid of them. I have the feeling that sometimes in Sweden incompetent people are not fired but moved about. That is if they reached a certain position in society. It probably also depend on the social skills of the individual. This is only an observation; some people that are not good at their job manages to move up all the same. You also have the theory that all bosses get promoted to their level of incompetence since as long as they do a good job they get promoted so once they stop moving up they are actually on a level where they are not doing a good job.
I am not yet prepared to say that she isn't doing a good job but it would be an easy solution.
A fourth theory is that she has a very different view on what is the purpose of the university and the politics of the role of the university. There has been a lot of discussions about making the universities independent of the state moving the universities toward private enterprises or foundations. This could indeed be a question worthy of a mutiny