Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien PC OM CC QC , známý běžně jako Jean Chrétien je bývalý kanadský politik. Byl v pořadí 20. ministerským předsedou Kanady. Tuto funkci zastával po dobu deseti let, a to od 4. listopadu 1993 do 12. prosince 2003.
Narodil se v quebeckém Shawiniganu a vystudoval práva na Université Laval. Kanadským poslancem byl poprvé zvolen v roce 1963. Za vlády ministerského předsedy Pierre Trudeau zastával řadu vládních postů, zejména pak úřad ministra spravedlnosti, ministra financí a ministra pro indiánské záležitosti a rozvoj severu. V jedné z Trudeaových vlád byl vicepremiérem. V roce 1990 se stal předsedou Liberální strany Kanady a stranu vedl do federálních voleb v roce 1993, kdy výrazně vyhrála. Opětovného vítězství dosáhl ve volbách v roce 1997 a 2000.
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“Most Canadians don't understand the House of Commons.”
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Two, Learning The Ropes, p. 36
Kontext: Most Canadians don't understand the House of Commons. They turn on their televisions, see us yelling at one another, and dismiss us as a bunch of fools.
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Two, The Virtuous Circle, p. 75
Kontext: I never bought into the Laffer curve, a theory, named after an American supply-side economist who had been an adviser to the Reagan administration, that essentially argues that a government will increase its revenue by reducing its taxes. If it were that easy, everybody would do it. What politician doesn't want to reduce taxes in order to win votes? Taken to its logical extreme, the Laffer curve makes no sense because, if you lower your taxes to zero, how are you going to get higher revenues? In practice, every government that toyed with this theory ended up with larger deficits, higher interest rates and greater social inequality.
“The art of politics is learning to walk with your back to the wall,”
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Five, A Balancing Act, p. 118
Kontext: The art of politics is learning to walk with your back to the wall, your elbows high, and a smile on your face. It's a survival game played under the glare of lights.
“The public is moved by mood more than logic, by instinct more than reason,”
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Three, The Business Of politics, p. 67
Kontext: A successful politician must not only be able to read the mood of the public, he must have the skill to get the public on his side. The public is moved by mood more than logic, by instinct more than reason, and that is something that every politician must make use of or guard against
“God gave me a physical defect, and I've accepted that since I'm a kid.”
1993, at a campaign stop, in response to the infamous attack ad that appeared to mock him and suggest he was unfit for the job of Prime Minister due to his Bell's Palsy condition. Source video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PikszBkfTHM
Live
Kontext: But last night, the Conservative Party reached a new low; they tried to make fun of the way I look. God gave me a physical defect, and I've accepted that since I'm a kid. It's true, that I speak on one side of my mouth. I'm not a Tory, I don't speak on both sides of my mouth.
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Four, The Politics Of Business, p. 91
Kontext: I learned early that business is business and politics is politics. The proof is how few important businessmen have made good politicians. They may think that they are very smart about everything because they made millions of dollars by digging a hole in the ground and finding oil, but the talent and luck needed to become rich are not the same talent and luck needed to succeed on Parliament Hill.
“For me, pepper, I put it on my plate.”
November 25, 1997, at a press conference, in response to a question from Nardwuar the Human Serviette about whether Chrétien supported police use of pepper spray on protestors. Video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWf2LLaHkM0
Live
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Five, A Balancing Act, p. 108
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Five, The Phony War, p. 115
“To my mind losing is always better than never trying, because you can never tell what may happen.”
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Nine, Main Street...Bay Street, p. 195
Preface, p. 10
Straight From The Heart (1985)
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Ten, Power behind the Throne, p. 238
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Eight, Tales from the Nineteenth Hole, p. 198
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Fourteen, Vive le Canada, p. 406
“Politics is a game of friends.”
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter One, A Passion For Politics, p. 23
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Three, The Business Of politics, p. 76
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Three, Yankee Traders, p. 87
“Vision is not political rhetoric.”
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Eleven, No the Retiring Type, p. 264
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Seven, Security Details, p. 183
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Four, The Politics Of Business, p. 92
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Nine, Main Street...Bay Street, p. 211
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter One, At Laurier's Desk, p. 29
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Thirteen, Friends and Allies, p. 364
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Twelve, No To War, p. 287
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter One, At Laurier's Desk, p. 28 ( See also: Aline Chretien)
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Three, The Business Of politics, p. 87
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Four, One Day at a Time, p. 106-107
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Nine, But Who Watches The Dog?, p. 211
“I've never believed in seeking perfection at the risk of losing everything.”
Zdroj: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Eight, A New Constitution, p. 189
Zdroj: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter One, At Laurier's Desk, p. 16
