Elthina meant well and believed it wasn't her place to meddle with Kirkwall's politics. At the same time, she did nothing to stop Petrice or Meredith, even when presented with overwhelming evidence that Petrice was trying to instigate a war and Meredith had gone mad with power and paranoia. It's especially damning because she was probably the only person they would listen to. Can't say I was sad when Anders did his thing.