Reuven Rivlin Quotes

My pitch is very simple. My name is Theresa May, and I think I'm the best person to be Prime Minister of this country.

She can talk beautifully about democracy. But she does not know how to live democracy

Democracy is about opposition.

My retirement will make no difference in [the newspaper’s] cardinal principles, that it will always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers, never lack sympathy with the poor, always remain devoted to the public welfare, never be satisfied with merely printing news, always be drastically independent, never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty.

Parliament of Parliaments

The Prime Minister of this country should be 100 percent efficient at all time.

Governments pale in the face of truth. It’s the one thing they fear most.

Politics is about explanations.

We don’t trust government, but we need government….Government didn’t land here from Mars. We elected them.

Since the business of politics is the conciliation of differing interests, justice must not merely be done, but to be seen to be done.

Politics is a profession; a serious, complicated and, in a true sense, a noble one.

Following World War II, the world mostly shared values about human rights, democracy and so forth. Many believed then that Western liberal ideas would be universal. But today it is not the case that we share the same values. If you look at Russia, China, Turkey—and even inside our societies—people have different concepts about how to organize big societies. Typically in Western society, the individual is protected against the collective. But increasingly, the collective is protected against the individual. And even inside our own society, the question arises more and more about how much should you defend the collective against the individual? What is the right balance?

We live in a democracy, and people are free to sometimes choose the wrong leader.

I'm not for seizing power, I'm for justice in the country and for democratic elections.

Asking for a royally appointed prime minister is undemocratic. It is, pardon me, a mess. It is irrational.

When you look at every government, they're our elected officials, and you have to have some form of respect for them.

Strong government doesn't mean simply military power or an efficient intelligence apparatus. Instead, it should mean effective, fair administration - in other words, 'good governance.'

Congress is where Americans are supposed to have our big, messy political fights. That's because the people who make the laws need to be hired and fired by the people. Don't like the laws? Fire the lawmakers.

Pretty much every prime minister since I can remember has made me mad.

Political shenanigans come and go, yet often what feels like a big deal in Westminster fails to get a mention on the news. As a result, the public wisely let most of the hurly-burly of politics wash over their heads.

I would take issue with the assertion that President Trump has reached out to a diverse group for his cabinet secretaries. In fact, his cabinet is one of the least diverse in modern history.

We have this joke in England that half the people want me to be prime minister, and the other half want me shot.

Ethics knows no party. Those rules should be applied the same in a Republican administration and a Democratic administration.

When all Americans believe that the people we elect deserve to be in power, that their conduct in office is worthy of respect, and that they can be held accountable for their decisions, our politics will finally be worthy of our great people.

In a democracy, there should be representation from every field.