Proof of Stake was part of the original plan for Ethereum. Everyone knew going in that it would transition to it. The entire development team, not just Vitalik, has agreed to use ice ages to encourage the entire community to hard fork, to prevent orphan chains from emerging every time one of these planned changes is implemented.

It's unfair and inaccurate to describe the execution of a long-established plan that has been part of Ethereum since the beginning as some sort of nefarious plot being pushed through using manipulation.