The Original Napoleonic Powermonger
Playlist: Beethoven's 3rd Symphony (Berliner Philharmoniker, Karajan)
This historical event is a poor fit to the current situation, enough that without the date listed it would be difficult to tell just what event is being referenced. But given 1799, this could only be about Napoleon Bonaparte's first entry into French government.
At the time, Napoleon was one of the most successful leaders in the French army, having somehow managed to convince them to put him in charge despite being a Corsican separatist. He also owned a few newspapers and had considerable political influence. Returning to France from a war, he was secretly approached by a cabal plotting a coup. Now, this sort of thing is not at all uncommon. George Washington and Smedley Butler in the states both had the same thing happen, they were just nice enough to refuse. Napoleon wasn't.
Napoleon finagled the job of guarding the Council of Ancients (parliament, essentially), convinced them there was a pending rebellion, sent them to a hidden bunker for ostensibly for their protection, and intimidated the directors (cabinet) into resigning. Then he and his brother tricked a bunch of grenadiers into breaking up the Council of 500 (the other house of their parliament).
All that military force strengthened Napoleon's position within the conspiracy, and when the dust settled he was pretty much the guy in charge. But that same military force also makes this a really weak comparison. It's a fairly straightforward military coup, albeit one relying far more on luck than any decent planner would like. It's not a self-coup.
Frankly, I think whoever made this list picked the wrong Napoleon... but that's a story for another day.
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