Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Kai Winn
8. She Was Incredibly Principled - When It Suited Her
This follows on from the previous entry on this article - Winn Adami was a fiercely principled character when the situation called for it, with perhaps the best example of this in The Collaborator. When Vedek Winn discovers that a high-ranking member of the Vedek assembly passed information to the Cardassians during the Occupation, she jumps on this - assuming it's her greatest rival, Bareil.
All evidence points toward him, which delights Winn. His disqualification from the race to Kai would leave a clear path for her. Kira, vehemently opposed to Winn's candidacy, begins to pursue the case - only for Bareil to complicate matters by pleading with her to stop.
He assumes the suspicion, covering for the real culprit - the previous Kai, Opaka. While Kira is shocked to learn this, Winn's actions following Bareil's withdrawal from the race are telling. She is quickly elected Kai, and informs Kira that the truth was no longer important to her. Someone collaborated an act that now belongs in the past, with Kai Winn moving forward to complicate the lives of everyone around her.
The search for a collaborator was a matter of the utmost urgency - until her politics no longer required an answer.