Harold MacMillan Quotes
Once the bear's hug has got you, it is apt to be for keeps.
Harold Macmillan, 1894-1986, British Prime Minister (Conservative), New York Herald Tribune, October 15, 1961
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
After the War of 1812, England and America gradually increased trade and became more friendly. Both were having difficulties with Spain and others.
In one of the most cynical treaties in history, Communist Russia under Stalin entered into a mutual defense treaty with Fascist Nazi Germany under Hitler. Russia and Germany had been bitter enemies, and philosophically Communism and Fascism had been at opposite poles. But both countries were led by ruthless dictators who at this moment in history became useful to each other. One result for example, is that Germany and Russia divided Poland which lost its independence and its integrity. The pact did not last very long, and soon the two nations were again bitter enemies and the battles between them accounted for the majority of both nations’ WWII casualties where the Russians had 22 million of their citizens killed by their former “allies”.
He made this statement a few days after Donald Trump had won the Presidency and one of his slogans was “Drain the Swamp of Washington DC. While there was almost universal support for “Draining the Swamp” among Trump’s supporters, the President Elect had never specified exactly what specific changes should be made. Almost all Americans at that time were in favor of reform of the political system, but there was very little concordance on which areas are most important to reform and on the details of the changes that should be made.
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC, FRS was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he was known for his pragmatism, wit and unflappability.
