What exactly was Delacort's plan?

In Elysium, the secretary of defense Delacort (played by Jodie Foster) intended to overthrow the existing government and install herself as the new leader.

If I understood correctly, her plan was to upload a new version of the computer program that the government uses to manage everything -- and in the new version, she would be designated president.

Is that seriously all there was to her plan? Was the movie really built around the premise that the populace and its existing power structure would suddenly accept Delacort as the new leader just because some computer program said so?

plot-explanation elysium

Best Answer

People who lived in/on Elysium were the so called high-strata of society, managed by a Government and supported by Armadyne Corporation. The high-tech facility recognized leaders via it's AI. Sort of like a computerized version of Office Leader board. Upon overriding the program, Delacort would be officially recognized as the President.

She did not want Armadyne to create a new program, but merely modify the existing one to make her the President. In return she promised them defense contracts for the next 200 years.

Further, once the system and Armadyne recognized her as the President, there is little anyone else could have done. Neutral people would serve her, while Loyalists to Patel would be in a fix. It simply was a political situation - more like a military coup, albeit much more complex.

The people on Earth, were not much intuited by the workings of the Government, since it resided on Elysium. Hence, at large, the general population would be kept out of reach, both politically and physically. Also, the populace of Elysium were wealthy people who would have sided with Delacort at large due to her pro-stance towards them.