Benigno Aquino III Quotes

I've never worried about payback. People are hungry for leadership that's not afraid of political consequence.

We need an honest politician in charge who doesn't care whether they are re-elected and is prepared to make the unpopular decisions.

I want to tell you ladies and gentlemen, the actions that we took were not always easy. The actions that we took were not always popular. But when you get yourself in public office, you must lead, you must do what's necessary.

There never is a good time for tough decisions. There will always be an election or something else. You have to pick courage and do it. Governance is about taking tough, even unpopular, decisions.

It's very useful when politicians have doubts because there are so many choices to be made in the world.

You accumulate political capital to spend it on noble causes for Canada. If you're afraid to spend your capital, you shouldn't be there.

If I started worrying about how my constituents are going to react to every move I make, I wouldn't be able to do my job here. I'll do what I think is right and explain it later.

Leaders respond when they perceive that there will be a political cost of inaction.

Politics is about accountability, it is about leadership, it is about courage.

The electorate will forgive you even for decisions that they do not agree with, but they will not forgive you for not deciding.

As a politician, you can run from your problems or run toward your problems.

If I finish my term in office … and have high approval ratings, then I wasted my last years in office. That high approval rating means you don’t upset anybody. High approval rating means you’re skiing down the slope and you never fall. Well, you’re skiing the baby slope, for goodness’ sakes. Go to a steeper slope. You always want to press, and you want to tackle the issues that are unpopular, that nobody else will go after.

There was one man in the Labour government, Robin Cook, whom I had a very high regard for. He had the courage to speak out and to resign over Iraq. He was an admirable man. But resignation over a matter of principle is not a very fashionable thing in our society.

In 2015, Arvind Kejriwal was not tested. But in 2020, he has been tested and he has failed.

Mayors are very different, because mayors can't be on both sides of every issue. Mayors have to take an explicit stance. Just go with your gut and say what you believe, and you'll be fine. If you're not fine, at least you'll like what you see in the mirror.

Because John McCain stood up, our country is better off. The respect he is given around the world is not because of a teleprompter speech designed to appeal to American critics abroad but because of decades of clearly demonstrated character and statesmanship.

My goal was never to get re-elected.

There are actually very few US politicians who have integrity and vision.

It is not easy to stand up against your constituents or your friends or colleagues or your community and take a tough stand for something you believe is right. Because you always want to keep working and live to fight another battle and it might cost you your career.

I admire politicians. It is a really tough assignment, and I would fall at the first fence.

Divorced from ethics, leadership is reduced to management and politics to mere technique.

A leader does not deserve the name unless he is willing occasionally to stand alone.

President Obama has a strong record of doing what is best for America and Florida, and he built it by spending more time worrying about what his decisions would mean for the people than for his political fortunes.

The people of New Jersey stepped up. They shared in the sacrifice. You know what else they did? They rewarded politicians who lead instead of politicians who pandered.

Great presidents, and even those not so great, never complained about the hands they were dealt. Just the opposite. They assumed they were in the big chair to meet big challenges, no matter how difficult.