Toomas Hendrik Ilves Quotes

Democracy is good, provided the government can function.

Democracy doesn't mean electing a dictator every five years.

A democratic government must always be left free to be operated upon by the will of the majority of the time being. All that the government of the day can do is to ascertain what now appears to be the best principle.

We can not have free government without elections. And if the rebellion could force us to forgo, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have conquered or ruined us.

One of the cornerstones of our democracy is the peaceful transition of power.

There are a lot of benefits representative of government and it is far better than any type of dictatorial system and it is far better than a one-man rule situation.

Only votes talk, everything else walks.

The practical core of democracy, defined functionally, is the peaceful exchange of power between different groups of powerful political players arranged in parties.

Democracy is about non-arbitrary decisions. Democracy is about spreading decisions; it is not about destroying processes.

It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting.

Democracy consists of choosing your dictators, after they've told you what you think it is you want to hear.

Voting is the foundational act that breathes life into the principle of the consent of the governed.

Democracy is a process by which people are free to choose the man who will get the blame.

Democracy is about voting and it's about a majority vote. And it's time that we started exercising the Democratic process.

I'm the one who initiated the democratic process.

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.

Anybody who asks for democracy to be introduced should respect the results of democracy.

Democracy may mean something more than a theoretically absolute popular government, but it assuredly cannot mean anything less.

What's the point of elections if everything is already decided?

Democracy is a process.

Democracy is a slow and complex process …. Democracy is counter-intuitive. Democracy takes time to learn. It takes years or even decades to take on the habits of democracy…. If you jump too fast, the wrong people come to power…. Yes democracy, but democracy slow.

Democracy means decision by those concerned.

A democratic crisis can only be settled by more democracy.

The freedom to persuade and suggest is the essence of the democratic process.

The peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history yet common in our country.