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Jean Chrétien Quotes

born 1934 Canada

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien PC OM CC QC (born January 11, 1934), known commonly as Jean Chrétien, is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003.

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Also known as: Jean Chretien

Random Jean Chrétien quote

31 quotes

To my mind losing is always better than never trying, because you can never tell what may happen.

Straight From The Heart (1985)

I've never believed in seeking perfection at the risk of losing everything.

Straight From The Heart (1985)

There is nothing more nervous than a million dollars - it moves very fast, and it doesn't speak any language.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

To be frank, politics is about wanting power, getting it, exercising it, and keeping it.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

Over the years, I have seen too many politicians ruin their careers because they could not accept defeat graciously.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

There's no such thing as a genius in politics, or at least I have never met one. There are only human beings, some better than others, who rise or fall on the challenges they meet.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

Aline and I have travelled a very long, very hard road together, from our working class homes in rural Quebec to the palaces of London, Paris, Moscow, and Beijing. Politics was the route, public service the reward.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

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?

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

Economics has been called the dismal science. Once you get to understand it, you may not find it so dismal, but you don't find it much of a science either.

Straight From The Heart (1985)

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.

Straight From The Heart (1985)

Jean Chretien
To be frank, politics is about wanting power, getting it, exercising it, and keeping it.

I was proud to have been the anti-establishment candidate after more than twenty years in politics, a small town guy fighting for the ordinary Canadian.

Straight From The Heart (1985)

Canadian federalism is more than a form of government. It's also a system of values that allows different people in diverse communities to live and work together in harmony for the good of all.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

For all its prestige, its fabulous views, its indoor pool, and its lovely garden, 24 Sussex is more like an old hotel than a modern home.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

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.

Straight From The Heart (1985)

I didn't feel the need to have a lot of yes-men standing around me. As Mitchell Sharp once put it, the bigger the staff, the smaller the minister.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

Vision is not political rhetoric.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

Politics is a game of friends.

Straight From The Heart (1985)

A leader has to know how the system functions - not just the system of government but the whole social and economic system, including business, the unions, and the universities.

Straight From The Heart (1985)

Trudeau valued performance above image. He Knew he could give me a shovel if there was a mess to clean up, and he kept moving me from one mess to another.

My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Jean Chrétien (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.