Politics Quotes

Diplomacy: the art of restraining power.

To me, politics is deliberately making things better for some people by deliberately making them worse for others.

When Kruschev was forced out, he sat down and wrote two letters and handed them to his successor. He said "When you get into a situation you can't get out of, open the first letter and you'll be saved. And when you get into another situation you can't get out of, open the second." Soon enough this guy found himself in a tight place. So he opened the first letter. It said, "Blame everything on me." So he blamed the old guy and it worked like a charm. He got into another situation he couldn't get out of, so he opened the second letter, which read, "Sit down and write two letters."

Copy quote

Traffic (2000)

General Ralph Landry

Politics... don't interest me. There is hardly a single person in the House of Commons worth painting; though many of them would be the better for a little white-washing.

Copy quote

Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Ironic Quotes

— That man was right born for this.
— He's killed 44 men and laid low a couple of hundred more.
— Is that right?
— Right.
— I should have run him for mayor!

Our official position is... we have no official position.

Politicians can't often recognise the changes that are inevitable.

Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

When imperialism feels weak, it resorts to brute force.

Copy quote

Hugo Chávez

Imperialism

They (politicians) don’t care if the army is actually flying the plane, they are happy to stay out of the cockpit and sit in business class, close the curtains and enjoy the fine food and service while the rest of us are squashed in economy.

Copy quote

Malala Yousafzai

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban

Malala Yousafzai

Nonchalance

Sarcastic Quotes

Fundamentally it is a political transformation of this sort that is required for a poor society to become rich.

Copy quote

Daron Acemoglu

James Robinson

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

Poor, Poverty

Prosperity

Politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed.

For in politics, what can laws do without morals?

All men are not created equal! Some are born smarter, or more beautiful, or with parents of greater status. Some, by contrast, are born of weak body or mind, or with few, if any, talents. All men are different! Yes, the very existence of man is discriminatory. That’s why there is war, violence and unrest. And men fight, they fight and by doing so they improve. There is nothing wrong with inequality, on the contrary, equality is evil. What happened to the European Union pursuing a policy of equality? Democrats who have become slaves of their men. And with the Chinese Federation equalizing the distribution of benefits? Now ignorance and rudeness thrive there. But not with our beloved Britain. We are fighting, we are competing, we are constantly developing. Britain alone is moving forward, rushing into the future. So it is and so it will be. Even despite the death of my son Clovis. This is proof that Britain will continue to develop. Fight, win, take your own and rule. Then the future will belong to us.