Portrayed as a shrewd, manipulating politician, Hardin eventually realizes Hari Seldon's true intention in forming the Foundation, but his beliefs and subsequent claims are derided by the members of the Board of Trustees, who attempt to remove him from his new position of power. Outmaneuvering them through, among other means, his control of the "Terminus City Journal", Hardin simultaneously manages to defuse a crisis arising between the Foundation and the neighboring kingdom of Anacreon, which has seceded from the crumbling Galactic Empire. His beliefs are proven correct after a recording of Hari Seldon is played after the passing of the "First Seldon Crisis"; he then is able to assume the role of the Foundation's "de facto" head of state.