UKC

There is very little that I actually know about politics in the grand scheme of things so as it seems that many of you have political opinions i wondered if you could name the greatest politician of all time and why?

And of course, who is the worst?

In reply to hera:

Hitler must go down quite highly, having managed to convince millions of people that what he was doing was right and what they should vote for. Obviously, I'm not supporting him in any way but you have to admire his skills of public speaking and campaigning.

One of the worst would prob be someone like James Goldsmith... tried to be serious and yet failed even to get his deposit back on just about any of the seats his republican party stood for in '97.

In reply to Dirty Gecko:

Hitler and Stalin are in the same kind of category I would imagine

In reply to hera:

Does Dubya count as a politician?!!

In reply to hera:

Probably, although people probably had more choice over Hitler than Stalin.

Maggie Thatcher was pretty good aswell... always kept to her opinions whether you agreed with them or not.

Of course, Bush would be very high on the list of elected politicians, if indeed he was elected the first time around.

In reply to Dirty Gecko:

So Bush for worse then, but I would class him more as a puppet.

In reply to oxbloke:

He goes in definately

he can make half the population believe him to be godly and that because he is religious he must be right! he's a pretty good terrorist himself too

In reply to Dirty Gecko:

Fidel Castro. Has managed to keep the majority of his country on side for decades without having to resort to too much intimidation. Dictatorship through persuasion rather than intimidation.

PT

In reply to hera:

Winston Churchill. Only for his leadership during the war.... actually I'm un-nominating him. He may well get my vote for greatest leader though as it is very likely that under anyone else Britain would have fallen to the Nazis in WW2

Nelson Mandela and De Clerk deserve a joint nomination for managing to steer SA through a bloodless transition to black rule

In reply to tb:


He was pretty unsuccessful as a politician, though, surely. Considered "washed up" in the run-up to the war, and accuseed of scare-mongering. Deposed immediately after the war, too.

Ultimate example of man:hour, I suspect.

In reply to Richard:

Indeed... much what I'd said hence my un-nominating him. Also swapping from libs to Tories smacks of opportunism that is not acceptable in a truly great politician.

I stand by my nomiination for greatest leader though.

On the greatest politician front I always think de Clerk didn't get enough praise for his efforts. Fighing the accusations of betrayal from his own supporters and the accompanying death threats from the white supremacists whilst steering through incredibly difficult legislation which would ensure the end of his career.... probably the closest thing to a truly admirable act that I can think of any modern day politician doing

In reply to hera:
Enoch Powell could be the worst .Brilliant man who never achieved anything except a reputation as a racist .

In reply to hera:

Depends upon what you mean by a politician.

Lord Liverpool, though detested by his peers, was by all accounts a canny statesman indeed with a real understanding of the international system.

Cato was stoic to the point of self-destruction (not unlike his hero Socrates) and his morals ran so deep that christians later compared him to christ in his resolve.

Garibaldi aroused passion and romance in others as arguably no other has since.

Popular belief has it that Lenin was shipped back to Russia in a sealed up train like a virus, so influencial was his supposedly his revolutionary rhetoric.

There are too many to list, or possibly even know. It would take a phenomenally broad grasp of history. All the examples above are from western political history, and there will be many, many extraordinary politicians from the rest of the world who the history we are taught as children simply miss out.

Mohammad Khatami is supposed to be a shrewd player and has reportedly overseen great changes in Iran.

In the world today, I'm quite partial to Blair given his seeming ability to take pounding after pounding and still push through controversial legislation and manage to control such a talented and often centrifugal cabinet.

James

In reply to Postmanpat:

How about Disraeli for one of the best? My favourite Tory by far. A slimey, ingratiating scrapper.

If I could have been alive in any other period than now, I would have been quite happy to have been able to watch he and Gladstone going at it for as long as they did.

James