List of political catchphrases  

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The following is a list of political catchphrases, that is, distinctive statements uttered by political figures that have gone on to become well known.

They are distinct from political slogans in that they are often not deliberately created sayings, and may become famous for other, unintentional reasons, and thus go on to gain "a life of their own" in popular culture and imagination.

Contents

Argentina

  • "¡Seamos libres, que lo demas no importa nada!" ("Let us be free, for the rest doesn't matter!") – Said in a pre-battle speech in 1817 by General José de San Martín to his troops just before the Battle of Chacabuco during the Crossing of the Andes.
  • "Tomar a todo el país como Dios y el hombre lo han hecho." ("Take the whole country as God and man have made it.") – Spoken by Bartolomé Mitre after the Battle of Pavon in 1861, about the need for national unification and federalization of all Argentine provinces.
  • "Ahora comienza una época de paz y administración." ("Now we begin a period of peace and administration.") – Spoken by then President Julio Argentino Roca during his inauguration speech in 1880, promising that peace and national organization would be achieved in his presidency after nearly thirty years of civil war and internal conflict.
  • "Que se rompa, pero que no se doble." ("Let it break, but never bend.") – The last words of Leandro Alem, leader of the Unión Cívica Radical, in his suicide letter, which was written in 1896. The phrase refers to his party's intransigent doctrine. Now commonly used as a slogan for the UCR.
  • "La única verdad es la realidad." ("The only truth is reality.") – A phrase typically used by President Juan Domingo Perón when telling his allies to be rational.<ref name="peron">Frases célebres de Juan Domingo Perón</ref>
  • "Mejor que decir es hacer, y mejor que prometer es realizar." ("Better than saying is doing, and better than promising is accomplishing.") – Perón, in a speech when he was Secretary of Labour and Welfare.<ref name="peron"/>
  • "El año 2000 nos encontrará unidos o dominados." ("The year 2000 will find us united or dominated".) – Perón, talking about the need for Latin American integration.<ref>Unidos o dominados: La visión de la integración latinoamericana en el pensamiento de Juan Domingo Perón en “La Hora de los Pueblos”</ref>
  • "Cuando uno de los nuestros caiga, caerán cinco de los de ellos." ("For each one of ours that falls, five of theirs will fall.") – Spoken by President Juan D. Perón on 31 August 1955, addressing his supporters to take revenge for the bombing of Buenos Aires by the military on 16 June the same year, which had caused around 300 casualties.<ref>The Bombing of Plaza de Mayo</ref>
  • "Ni vencedores ni vencidos." ("There are no winners or losers.") – General Eduardo Lonardi in September 1955, after overthrowing the government of Juan Perón, and before being displaced by the hard-line antiperonists within the new government.
  • "Se acabó la leche de la clemencia." ("The milk of clemency is over.") – Deputy Américo Ghioldi, inciting the military dictatorship of Aramburu to execute the leaders of a failed uprising, in 1956.<ref>20TH Century Argentina in the Hoover Institution Archives (page 16).</ref>
  • "Hay que pasar el invierno." ("We have to endure the winter.")<ref>Ayer Nomas. Retrieved 26 May 2008</ref> – Said in 1960 by Álvaro Alsogaray, Minister of Economy in the Frondizi government, referring to the hardships required to get through the economic troubles in the country, which was in dire need of oil.
  • "No renunciaré, no me suicidaré, no me iré del país" ("I will not resign, I will not commit suicide, I will not leave the country.") – Said in 1962 by President Arturo Frondizi under the threat of a military coup d'état. He initially resisted his ousting but was eventually forced at gunpoint into arrest in the Isla Martín García Prison.
  • "El comandante en jefe de las fuerzas armadas soy yo." ("The commander in chief of the armed forces is me.") – Said in 1966 by then President Arturo Illia to General Juan Carlos Onganía when the latter told the president that the armed forces were starting a coup d'état.
  • "Sólo la organización vence al tiempo." ("Only organization overcomes time.") – Perón, warning about the need for generational change within his party.<ref name="peron"/>
  • "Este viejo adversario despide a un amigo." ("This old adversary bids farewell to a friend.") – Said in 1974 by former head of the UCR, Ricardo Balbín at Juan Domingo Perón's funeral. Balbín had been Perón's biggest enemy during his political career, but the phrase symbolizes how, despite their enmity, Balbín was respectful enough to solemnly attend his funeral.<ref>Biography of Ricardo Balbín</ref>
  • "Es una incógnita, es un desaparecido. No tiene entidad, no está. No está ni muerto ni vivo, está desaparecido." ("It's an unknown, it's a disappeared. It has no entity, it is not there. It is Neither dead or alive, it is disappeared.") – Spoken in 1979 by de facto President Jorge Videla regarding the people who were sent into forced disappearances during the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional.<ref>La imagen justa: cine argentino y política, 1980-2007 (page 103)</ref>
  • "El que apuesta al dólar pierde." ("Whomever bets to the dollar loses") – Said in 1981 by then Minister of Economy Lorenzo Sigaut, paradoxically, two days before a large devaluation. Two days after this statement the dollar increased in value by 30% making everyone who had "bet" to the dollar rich.
  • "Si quieren venir, que vengan. ¡Les presentaremos batalla!" ("If they want to come, let them come. We will offer battle to them!") – Said by de facto President Leopoldo Galtieri regarding the British during the events that led to the Falklands War.
  • "La casa está en orden." ("The house is in order.") – Said by President Raúl Alfonsín about the Casa Rosada (The official headquarters of the executive power) after a failed coup d'état by the right-wing Carapintadas movement.
  • "Nunca Más." ("Never Again.") – The closing lines of Julio César Strassera's final statement while acting as the prosecutor during the Trial of the Juntas, a civil trial against the military leaders who headed dictatorship during the National Reorganization Process.
  • "¡A vos no te va tan mal, gordito!" ("You're not doing so bad, fatty!") – Yelled by Raúl Alfonsín to a heckling overweight man in the crowd during a speech, who complained about food shortages. An ironic line, since according to Alfonsín, the overweight man did not lack food.
  • "Síganme, no los voy a defraudar." ("Follow me, I will not let you down.") – Campaign slogan of President Carlos Menem. In retrospect ironic due to the extreme neoliberal policies that characterized Menem's presidency, which contradicted the populist promises of his campaign and the political corruption that characterized his presidency.
  • "Tenemos que dejar de robar por al menos dos años." ("We should stop embezzling for at least two years") – Trade-unionist Luis Barrionuevo in an interview in 1996, referring to the massive amount of political corruption in the country at the time.
  • "Dicen que soy aburrido." ("They say I'm boring") – a catch phrase of Fernando de la Rúa during his presidential campaign.
  • "El país está...bien." ("The country is...fine.") – A phrase said by Fernando de la Rúa when the 2000 Argentine Crisis started.
  • "Argentina es un país condenado al éxito." ("Argentina is a country doomed to success") – Phrase recurrently used by Eduardo Duhalde during his exercise of presidency after the 2001 crisis.<ref>«Argentina es un país condenado al éxito.»</ref>
  • "Mi voto no es positivo, mi voto es en contra." ("My vote is not positive, my vote is against.") – Phrase pronounced by Vice President Julio Cobos in 2008 in the Senate, when he voted against a farm tax project from his own political force.<ref>Argentine Senate rejects farm tax</ref>

Armenia

  • "Struggle...struggle...to the end!", said by Levon Ter-Petrosyan during the Karabakh movement in 1988.

Australia

Austria

  • "Lernen Sie Geschichte, Herr Reporter!" ("Study History, Mr. Reporter") said by then Chancellor Bruno Kreisky to TV journalist Ulricht Brunner, who had questioned Kreisky's comparing the actions of political opponents to fascism in the 30s.
  • "Ohne die Partei bin ich nichts" ("Without the Party I am nothing") said by Federal Chancellor Fred Sinowatz of the then Austrian Socialist Party<ref>Der Standard. Retrieved 26 May 2008</ref>
  • "Ich weiß, das klingt alles sehr kompliziert...", usually rendered as "Es ist alles sehr kompliziert..." ("I know, this all sounds complicated...", "Everything is very complicated...") said by Federal Chancellor Fred Sinowatz; the phrase is used ironically to hide the fact that one is not able to elaborate on a subject or may even be clueless about it.<ref>Parliamentary Politics in a Multinational Setting: Late Imperial Austria, Lothar Höbelt, Department of History, University of Vienna, 1992. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "Es reicht!" ("It's over!") said by the then Vice Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer of the Austrian People's Party in 2008 pronouncing the end of the grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria.

Bangladesh

  • "Rashtro Bhasha Bangla Bhasha" (State Language is Bangla Language)- Bengali Language Movement, 1952
  • "Digital Bangladesh" – Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh and President of Awami League
  • "Joodho Oparadhider Bichar Chai" (Try the war criminals)- War Crimes Trial Movement
  • "Desh Bachao! Manush Bachao!" (Save the country! Save the people!)- Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party
  • "Shadinota Birodhi Shokti" (Anti-liberation forces)- Used to describe the political parties/Pakistan Army and intelligence services/Islamic extremist and militant groups which opposed the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
  • "Jago Bangladesh" (Wake Up Bangladesh)- Moeen U Ahmed, former Chief of Army Staff, Bangladesh Army in 2007
  • Priyo Bhai O Boner Ra (Dear brothers and sisters)- Widely used by politicians and activists whilst addressing audiences
  • "Nagorik Shakti" (Citizen Power)- Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate and Managing Director of Grameen Bank in 2007

Belgium

In Dutch

In English

In French

Dutch – French

Latin

Brazil

  • "Eu não sabia" ("I didn't know") – said by Lula when asked about the Mensalão scandal, that had José Dirceu, Lula's intimate friend and then-Chief of Staff, as the head of the scheme.
  • "Só morto sairei do Catete"! ("Only dead I'll leave the Catete [Palace]!") – said by then-president Getúlio Vargas when he was being pressed by opposition parties to leave presidence.
  • "E se o Pitta não for um bom prefeito, nunca mais vote em mim". ("If Pitta can't be a good mayor, you should never vote for me again".) – said by Paulo Maluf in the campaign for the 1996 São Paulo city elections, where he supported Celso Pitta. Pitta was later involved in corruption scandals and served time in prison.<ref>Digestivo, Rafael Fernandes São Paulo, 23 August 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2008</ref>
  • "Estupra, mas não mata" ("Rape, but don't kill.") Said by Paulo Maluf during his classes in one of São Paulo's University.
  • "Relaxa e goza!" ("Relax and enjoy!") – said by Marta Suplicy at the peak of the 2006–2007 Brazilian aviation crisis, taken from an older, longer non-political popular saying, "Se a curra é inevitável, relaxa e goza" ("If the rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy"). The word "goza" comes from the verb "gozar" which, in formal Brazilian Portuguese, means "to enjoy" (in literal sense) or "to make fun of/to zombate at" (in another sense); in the case of the aforementioned sentence, it comes from the vulgar Brazilian Portuguese expression "to have an orgasm" (equalling to sexual verb "to cum").<ref>YouTube video showing the quotation. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "Bebo-o porque é líquido. Se fosse sólido, comê-lo-ia" ("I drink it because it's liquid. If it were solid, I would eat it.") – said by Jânio Quadros when asked by a reporter why he used to drink. Quadros' use of embedded, implicit nouns ("-o" and "-lo-") make the phrase overly formal for modern political speech.<ref>Complexo de vira-lata, Observatório da Imprensa, Carlos Brickmann, 18 May 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "Vagabundo! Vagabundo! Respeita doente!" ("You scumbag! You scumbag! Respect the sick!") – said by Gilberto Kassab while throwing a protester out of a public hospital.<ref>Video of the quotation by Kassab. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "Meus amigos e minhas amigas! Estou absolutamente convencido de que nunca antes na história deste país..." ("My [male] friends and my [female] friends! I am absolutely convinced that never before in the history of this country...") – said by Lula whenever he praises his own government.<ref>Youtube videos of Lula showing the same quotation used in different settings. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>

Canada

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China

In Chinese

  • "我这里准备了一百口棺材,九十九口留给贪官,一口留给自己!" (I've prepared 100 coffins. 99 for corrupt officials and one for myself.), said by Zhu Rongji, Premier 1998–2003.<ref>New Century News</ref>
  • "你们啊!You are all too young, too simple, sometimes naive! 係唔係啊?" (A mixture of Mandarin, English and Cantonese, in that order, meaning "You... You are all too young, too simple, sometimes naive! Isn't that right?") Said by Jiang Zemin, President 1993–2003, in response to a Hong Kong reporter.<ref>YouTube video with the quotation</ref>
  • "不管白猫黑猫,逮住老鼠就是好猫。" (No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat; as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.) Said by Deng Xiaoping, in reference to economic liberalization.<ref>Thinkexist.com</ref>

Colombia

  • "Tenemos que reducir la corrupción a sus justas proporciones" ("We must reduce corruption to its fair proportions") as said by former president Julio César Turbay Ayala.
  • "América Latina debe seguir el modelo de educación de Estados Unidos, que permite que los niños desde muy temprana edad manejen el idioma inglés." ("Latin America must follow the America's education model, that allows children to handle the English language from a very early age") as said by the former president Julio César Turbay Ayala.
  • "Yo no estoy a favor ni en contra, sino todo lo contrario" ("I'm not in favor nor against, but quite the opposite") as said by former president Julio César Turbay Ayala.
  • "Las encuestas son como las morcillas: muy sabrosas hasta que uno sabe cómo las hacen". ("Statistics are like blood sausage: they are delicious until you find out how they're made") as said by former presidential candidate Álvaro Gómez Hurtado.
  • "Colombianos, bienvenidos al futuro" ("Colombians, welcome to the future") as said by former president César Gaviria Trujillo.
  • "Aquí estoy y aquí me quedo" ("Here I am, and here I stay") as said former president Ernesto Samper Pizano.
  • "Si entró dinero del narcotráfico en mi campaña presidencial, en todo caso fue a mis espaldas". ("If there was money from the drug traffic in my presidential campaign, it was behind my back") as said former president Ernesto Samper Pizano.
  • "¡Mamola!" ("No way!") as said by Horacio Serpa.
  • "Dejen jugar al moreno" ("Allow the colored to play") as said by Carlos Moreno de Caro for the counselor campaign of Bogotá.
  • "Trabajar, trabajar y trabajar" ("To work, to work and to work") as said by Álvaro Uribe Vélez in his presidential speeches.
  • "No más sangre, no más depredaciones en nombre de ningún partido político: paz, justicia y libertad" ("Not more blood, not more pillagings in the name of any political party: peace, justice and freedom") as said from former president Gustavo Rojas Pinilla in 1953.

Cuba

  • "Patria o muerte, venceremos" ("Homeland or death, we will triumph") said by Che Guevara on December, 11th, 1964 at the United Nations General Assembly.

Denmark

  • "Der er ikke fejet noget ind under gulvtæppet" ("Nothing has been swept under the rug"), Poul Schlüter Danish Prime Minister in 1989.
  • "Jeg kan slå Anders Fogh" ("I can beat Anders Fogh"), Helle Thorning-Schmidt, when elected leader of the Danish Social Democrats in 2004.
  • "Der er ikke noget at komme efter" ("There is nothing to this [story/accusation]")*, Anders Fogh Rasmussen Danish Prime Minister 2001–2008.
  • "Ytringsfrihed er ytringsfrihed er ytringsfrihed. Der er intet men." ("Freedom of speech is freedom of speech is freedom of speech. There is no 'but'.") Per Nyholm about the cartoons in the Jyllands-Posten.

Dominican Republic

  • "La Constitución es sólo un pedazo de papel." (The Constitution is just a piece of paper.) Joaquín Balaguer in 1994.
  • "El problema del dengue se resuelve si cada dominicano mata diez mosquitos diarios." (Dengue issues can be solved if each Dominican kills ten mosquitoes per day.) José Rodríguez Soldevila, former Minister of Health.
  • "Si me tocan, la República cogerá fuego por las cuatro esquinas." (If they touch me, the Republic will burn by its four corners.) José Francisco Peña Gómez, during the 1994 elections, about an alleged assassination attempt.
  • "Se hizo pupú fuera del cajón." (He pooped out of the box.) Joaquín Balaguer, accusing Peña Gómez of paranoia, during the 1994 elections.
  • "No hay presos políticos, sino políticos presos." (There are no political prisoners, only imprisoned politicians.) Joaquín Balaguer in 1978.
  • "¿Que la carne está muy cara? ¡Nadie ha dicho que hay que comer carne todos los dias! ¡Coman berenjena!" (That meat is expensive? And who said you have to eat meat every single day! Eat some eggplant!) Hipólito Mejía.
  • "E' pa'lante que vamos!" (Could be translated to, we are going forward, we are going to progress) Leonel Fernández.

Estonia

  • "Eesti mees, eesti naine!"(Estonian man, Estonian woman!) was the starting phrase of the speeches and articles by the leaders of the Vaps movement.
  • "Meie olukord on sitt, aga see on meie tuleviku väetis" (The situation is shitty, but this is the fertilizer of our future) by President of Estonia Lennart Meri in 1997.

Finland

  • "Kyllä kansa tietää" ("The public knows [best]") by Veikko Vennamo
  • "Tuli iso jytky!" (Could be translated to "That was a huge hit!') and "Tänään on tilipäivä!" ("Today is payday!") by Timo Soini after the historical parliamental election victory of True Finns in April 2011
  • "EU on rikkaiden oma Neuvostoliitto" (The European Union is the Soviet Union for rich people), Timo Soini.
  • "Saatanan tunarit" ("Fucking morons") by president Urho Kekkonen, first said in a critical letter to the former governor of the Kymi district. Has since lived on among the Finnish people.

"Aivan aluksi haluaisin kiittää..." ("First of all, I would like to thank...") by Jutta Urpilainen of Social Democratic Party of Finland. She started many of her interviews with those words after the 2008 parliamentary elections.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBY2bbggxyE</ref> She used the phrase also after the 2011 elections as a joke.<ref>http://www.ts.fi/online/kotimaa/214151.html</ref>

France

  • "Je vous ai compris". (I have understood you.) President Charles de Gaulle to a crowd in Algeria, before its independence.
  • "Le Brésil n'est pas un pays serieux!" (Brazil is not a serious country!) Charles de Gaulle about Brazilian informality...
  • "Vous n'avez pas, M. Mitterrand, le monopole du cœur." (You do not, Mr. Mitterrand, have a monopoly on the heart.) Valéry Giscard d'Estaing to presidential candidate François Mitterrand, during the 1974 French Presidential debate.
  • "Soyez gentil de nous laisser parler, et de cesser d'intervenir incessamment, un peu comme le roquet." (Kindly let us talk, and stop incessantly interfering, like a nasty little dog.) Said by Jacques Chirac to Laurent Fabius in 1986.
  • "Mais vous avez tout à fait raison, M. le premier ministre." (But you are absolutely right, Mr. Prime Minister.) François Mitterrand responding to presidential candidate Jacques Chirac, who said he would call him Mr. Mitterrand, during the 1988 French Presidential debate instead of "Mr. President" since they were nothing but two citizens, not two officials.
  • "Et alors ?" (So what?) said by François Mitterrand – 1994
  • "Casse toi pauv'con" (Get lost you prick) said by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 at the Paris international agricultural show, to a recalcitrant visitor who refused to shake his hand.
  • "Moi, président de la République" (Me, President of the French Republic) said 16 times by François Hollande during 2 May televised debate.

Germany

Greece

"Λεφτά υπάρχουν" (there is money) said by George Papandreou, Prime Minister of the country from Oct2009 – Nov2011, in a speech a year before the elections that brought him to power and some months after the Sep2008 financial incidents.<ref>[8]. Retrieved 22 February 2012</ref>

Hong Kong

  • Try our breast – lawmaker-elect Gary Chan's comment upon being declared elected in the early morning of 8 September 2008. The phrase he intended to say was 'try our best'. The phrase has since been used as a derogatory way to describe people's problem with proper pronunciations.

Hungary

  • "Monnyonle!" (Resign! – with deliberately incorrect spelling and pronunciation) József Torgyán, a former political figure used this phrase very often. The catchphrase became a chanting slogan in demonstrations.
  • "Elkúrtuk, nem kicsit, nagyon." (We screwed it, not a little but a lot.) Ferenc Gyurcsány, former prime minister and Socialist leader, addressing his party members and MPs in a secret speech which was leaked and it caused a very serious political scandal and riots in the streets.
  • "Nem hazudtam, de nem bontottam ki az igazság minden részletét." (I didn't lie. I only didn't elaborate on every detail of the truth.) Ferenc Gyurcsány, former prime minister and Socialist leader in an interview.
  • "A békát sem kérdezik meg, amikor lecsapolják a mocsarat. ("Frogs are not asked for opinion when you want to drain a marshland.") János Kóka, the former leader of Alliance of Free Democrats relating to substantial changes he wanted to introduce in policies for higher education and research.
  • "Sokan voltunk, de mégsem voltunk elegen." (There were many of us but not enough of us.) Viktor Orbán, former center-of-right prime minister, Fidesz party leader about a lost election.

Indonesia

  • "Gitu aja kok repot?" (Why take so much trouble?) Former president Abdurrahman Wahid's popular repeating catchphrase.
  • "Bersama kita bisa." (Together we can.) Slogan of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during 2004 presidential election.
  • "Lanjutkan!" (Continue!) Bambang Yudhoyono's reelection slogan during his campaign in 2009.
  • "Lebih Cepat Lebih Baik" (The Faster The Better) Then-vice president Jusuf Kalla's slogan during his unsuccessful 2009 presidential run, poking fun at Yudhoyono's criticised indecisiveness.
  • "Semua bisa diatur." (Everything can be handled.) Former vice-president Adam Malik's popular catchphrase.
  • "Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka" (Freedom, Freedom, Freedom) Megawati Sukarnoputri, paraphrasing her famous father, Sukarno.
  • "Ganyang Malaysia": Destroy Malaysia [literally: gobble it down raw as per a freshly killed animal] popular anti-neo-colonial slogan of Sukarno, still remaining very popular policy with the Indonesian people to absorb the British created state of Malaysia, especially in times of Malaysian-Indonesian conflicts.
  • "Marhaeni" and "Marhaenisme"- the Indonesian everyman and enrichment via traditional economics as advocated by Sukarno
  • "Sang Merah Putih sampai Medan ke Merauke" The sacred Red & White [flag] flies from Medan (Sumatra) to Merauke (Papua)- Sukarno.
  • "Indonesia ialah bangsa yang asal di Madagaskar sampai Filipina"- "Indonesian is a nation that stretches from Madagascar to the Philippines"- Sukarno.
  • "I henceforth procalim Tri Kora" (Three commands, namely: tri-command: 1. Defeat the formation of the puppet state of Papua of Dutch colonial make., 2. Unfurl the Honoured Red and White Flag in West Irian, Indonesian native land., 3. Be ready for general mobilisation to defend the independence and unity of Country and Nation.) Sukarno in his United Nations address and a commonly paraphrased slogan when addressing nationalist issues.
  • "Yes, I am a Muslim. But first I am an Indonesian Nationalist "- Sukarno, commonly paraphrased to reinforce Indonesian nationalist-secularist and patriotism.<ref>http://www.papuaweb.org/goi/pidato/1961-12-jogjakarta.html</ref>

India

Iran

Ireland

Israel

  • "הגידו כן לזקן" ("Say Yes to the old man") used during an election campaign in the fifties. The old man is David Ben-Gurion. In Hebrew the phrase (phonetically "hagidu ken lazaken") rhymes.
  • "יש גרמניה אחרת" ("There is a new Germany") – said by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion after his historical meeting with Konrad Adenauer, the German Chancellor.
  • "הם לא נחמדים" ("They are not so nice") – said by Prime Minister Golda Meir regarding the Israeli Black Panthers protest movement.
  • "אברשה שוב הביתה" ("Abrasha, come home") – Said by Prime Minister Itzhak Shamir to MK Avraham (Abrasha) Sharir, as the last had planned to leave the Likud party and join the opposing Labour party as part of "the dirty trick" in 1990.
  • "מייד'לע, ראית פעם גבר סורג גרביים? אז אישה לא יכולה להיות טייסת קרב" ("Meidele (Yiddish for "honey"), have you ever seen a man darning socks? So therefore a woman cannot be a combat pilot") – said by former President and former Air Force commandant Ezer Weizman in a phone conversation with Alice Miller, a soldier who successfully petitioned the High Court to force the Israeli Air Force to open its pilots' course to women in 1994.
  • "שלום, חבר" ("Goodbye, friend") – said by United States President Bill Clinton at the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin.
  • "יתנו, יקבלו. לא יתנו, לא יקבלו" ("If they [the Palestinians] will give, they will get. If they won't give, they won't get") – used during the 1996 election campaign by Benjamin Netanyahu, at the peak of the Peace Process started after the Oslo Accords.
  • "הם מ-פ-ח-ד-י-ם" ("They are s-c-a-r-e-d") – Used several times by Benjamin Netanyahu to ridicule his Labour opponents.
  • "?אני לוזר" ("Am I a loser?") – question asked by Shimon Peres in a speech in a Labour Party meeting in 1997, after he lost his 6th election in a row. The crowd shouted "Yes!".
  • "אני ראש ממשלה לא פופולרי" ("I'm not a very popular Prime Minister") – said by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert following reports that his approval rate is plummeting.

Italy

  • "Culona inchiavabile" ("Unfuckable lard ass") - said by Silvio Berlusconi about Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel
  • "Il potere logora chi non ce l'ha" ("Power tires only those who do not have it")- said by Giulio Andreotti
  • "Riconosco i miei limiti ma non vivo in un mondo di giganti" ("I recognize my limits but when I look around I realise I am not living exactly in a world of giants.")- said by Giulio Andreotti

Lithuania

  • "Šikau ir tapšnojau" (approx. "I took a dump and patted it with my hand") – uttered by President Rolandas Paksas during private conversation on phone. It was intercepted and revealed to the public by the authorities during corruption investigation. The phrase should be understood as: "I couldn't care less"
  • "Aš neatsistatydinsiu!" ("I will not resign!") – the standard phrase of President Rolandas Paksas, constantly repeated both before and after his impeachment
  • "Moteriškėms daina kaip birka eina iš lūpų į lūpas" (approx. "Songs for women are like cocks passing from mouth to mouth") – verbal radio presentation by Lithuanian MP Arūnas Valinskas on National Radio.

Mexico

  • "Un político pobre, es un pobre político" (A politician that is poor is a poor politician) – Carlos Hank González, old-guard politician and Forbes listed billionaire from Mexico's PRI (the then long-time ruling party) commenting on Mexico's crop of hugely enriched politicians (of which he was a prime example).<ref>Family Affairs – Mexican businessman and politician Carlos Hank .... Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "La política es como las fotos: el que se mueve, no sale" (Politics is like photography; if you move, you won't show up,<ref>Diccionario de la Real Academia Española, salir, number 5. Appear.</ref> or you won't get elected)<ref>Diccionario de la Real Academia Española, salir, number 32. Be elected.</ref> – Fidel Velázquez, old-guard politician and worker's union corrupt leader, commenting on how inaction is often a better recipe in politics (especially old-style Mexican politics).<ref>Política Al Margen – Argon Mexico. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "Vivir fuera del presupuesto, es vivir en el error" (To live away from the budget is to live in error)
  • "Ciertamente..." (Certainly...) – The most famous catchphrase of Vicente Fox, used in all his speeches several times.
  • "¿Y yo por qué?" (Why me?) – Response by Vicente Fox when confronted by CNI Canal 40 television workers to take action on their TV channel assault by TV Azteca.
  • "...Y a otra cosa, mariposa" – A popular rhyme literally meaning "to another thing, butterfly", roughly equivalent to "moving right along"; used by Vicente Fox to change subjects when confronted by a delicate matter.
  • "Lo que el presidente quiso decir..." (What the president meant...) – Phrase constantly used by President Fox's spokesman Rubén Aguilar, trying to amend the president's common unfortunate statements.
  • "Comes y te vas" (You eat and then you leave) – Very popular phrase by journalist Carlos Marín referring to the incident in which President Vicente Fox called Fidel Castro asking him to quietly leave after lunch in the 2002 UNO summit at Monterrey. The telephone recording was later made public by Fidel Castro ridiculing President Fox, much to the delight of many Mexican people.
  • "Haiga sido como haiga sido" – a barbarism said by Felipe Calderón, the right phrase in good Spanish world be "Haya sido como haya sido" (No matter how it would have been)
  • "If we publicly declare that Cuba is a threat to our security, 40 million Mexicans will die laughing." – Mexican ambassador to the United States, in response to the Kennedy administration's 1961 call to collective action against Cuba.

Netherlands

  • "At your service" – Pim Fortuyn, populist politician a few months before his assassination.<ref>Elsevier.nl – Biografie – Biografieën – Oud-politici. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "Congressen kopen geen straaljagers" (Party conferences don't purchase fighter jets) – Henk Vredeling, Defense minister Labour Party PvdA.<ref>In memoriam H. Vredeling (1924–2007). Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "Fatsoen moet je doen" (Do Decency) – Jan-Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister, Christian-Democratic party.<ref>Speech van de minister-president, mr. dr. J. P. Balkenende. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "In geouwehoer kun je niet wonen."(You can't live in hot air.) – Jan Schaefer, a socialist politician venting his opinion on Amsterdam's housing policies in the seventies.
  • "Fascisme is een sfeer die hangt in een zaal vol linkse mensen." (Fascism is the atmosphere in a room full of left wing people ) Godfried Bomans
  • "Het zijn wel ónze kut-Marokkanen." (But they are our fucking Moroccans) Job Cohen, mayor of Amsterdam, rephrasing Rob Oudkerk, an alderman in that city<ref>Dutch Wikipedia page on the term "Kut-Marokkaan"</ref>
  • "Laten wij blij zijn! (...) Die VOC-mentaliteit, over grenzen heen kijken, dynamiek! Toch? (Let's just be happy! (...) That East India Company spirit, Dynamics! Right?) – Jan Peter Balkenende, prime minister of the Netherlands, during the 2007 budget debate in Parliament.<ref>Handelingen der Staten-Generaal 2006–2007, nr. 6, Lower House, page 280.</ref>
  • "Gaat u maar rustig slapen." (Just go to sleep peacefully) – According to popular belief, prime minister Hendrikus Colijn said these words in a radio speech on the eve on the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. In reality, Colijn was not prime minister anymore by then. The phrase refers to a radio speech by Colijn in March 1936 in which he reacted on the remilitarization of the Rhineland. In this speech Colijn said: Ik verzoek den luisteraars dan ook om, wanneer zij straks hunne legersteden opzoeken, even rustig te gaan slapen als zij ook andere nachten doen. Er is voorshands geen enkele reden om ongerust te zijn. (That is why I would like to ask the listeners to sleep as tranquilly as they do on other nights, when they turn into their beds shortly. For the moment there is no reason whatsoever to be alarmed)<ref>"Begin en einde van een oorlog", NRC Handelsblad, 3 September 2009. "'Colijn heeft zich misdragen, ook voor die tijd'", de Volkskrant, 16 April 1998.</ref>
  • "Willen we naar de Dam? Dan gáán we naar de Dam!" (If we want to [march to] Dam Square? Then we will!) – trade union leader Herman Bode during a trade union manifestation on 4 March 1980.<ref>"De vakbondsman die naar de Dam ging. Herman Bode (1925–2007)", NRC Handelsblad, 11 January 2007.</ref>
  • "Mevrouwtje, ga lekker naar huis, koken, veel beter" ("Little lady, just go home, do the cooking. Much better.") – Pim Fortuyn, telling well-known reporter Wouke van Scherrenburg to stop asking him about being a "bad loser for refusing to answer" the night before his father's funeral.<ref>YouTube version with response of Wouke van Scherrenburg. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>

New Zealand

  • "[I am forced reluctantly to say that I had to listen to] an orchestrated litany of lies.", Justice Peter Mahon, accusing Air New Zealand of a cover-up after the crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901
  • "And I'm going to give it to you if you hold your breath just for a moment … I can smell the uranium on it as you lean forward", New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange arguing that "Nuclear Weapons Are Morally Indefensible", in reply to a negating debater on 1 March 1985.<ref>Nuclear Weapons are Morally Indefensible Oxford Union Debate. Retrieved 22 December 2008.</ref>
  • "Wombat." Former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange when asked by a journalist "Prime Minister, I wonder if we might have a brief word about Australia"
  • "Gone by lunchtime", attributed to opposition leader Don Brash referring to New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy if he gained government.
  • "Last cab off the rank" – said by former Prime Minister Helen Clark when describing her relationship with the Maori political party in not wanting to negotiate an agreement with them, even as a last resort, in 2005.
  • "I think most New Zealanders...", often used by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in interview situations.

Norway

  • "Eg er djupt såra og vonbroten" (I am deeply hurt and disappointed) – Kjell Bondevik during a televised speech in 1971 explaining the failure of negotiating a coalition government. This catch phrase is often quoted, even by people not usually writing in nynorsk, to express deep disappointment.
  • "Aldri mer 9. april" (Never again 9 April), referring to the German invasion in 1940. Often invoked by supporters of increased defense spending during the post-war years.
  • "sauer er ålreite dyr" (sheep are all right animals) – Communist party candidate Liv Finstad in 1983 explaining why her party wanted increase in sheep farming. Now quoted as example of ridiculous explanations of policy outside your field of expertise, or a funny answer to interview questions on topics the candidate doesn't have an informed answer.
  • "Det norske hus" (The Norwegian house), a cliché coined by Torbjørn Jagland, now often referring to slogans regarded as vacuous rhetoric.
  • "Me får finne oss i at synda er komen til jorda, men me vil ikkje ha ho i fargar" (We can accept that sin has arrived on Earth, but we don't want it in color), Einar Førde summarizing the oppostion during the debate on introducing color television.<ref>Arne Hjeltnes: Ny fargefjernsynsdebatt? Dagsavisen, 2 April 2011</ref> Quoted to ridicule puritanism.

Pakistan

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

  • "Obviamente, demito-o!" (Obviously, I'll sack him!) – answer of the presidential candidate Humberto Delgado, when asked what he would do with dictator Salazar if he was elected.<ref>SIC Online – "Obviamente demito-o!". Retrieved 8 May 2009.</ref>
  • "Porreiro Pá" (Cool dude) – José Sócrates, prime-minister, to the European Commission's president José Manuel Barroso at the end of the December 2007 EU summit that led to the Treaty of Lisbon
  • "É só fazer as contas!" (Just do the maths) – António Guterres, ex-prime-minister to the journalists, after being unable to calculate 6% of the Portuguese GDP
  • "Jamais, jamais!" (Never, never) – Mário Lino, Portuguese Minister of Public Works, Transportation and Communication, referring experts telling him that Lisbon's new international airport shouldn't be built south of the Tagus River. Later that location was actually chosen to build the airport.
  • "Em tempos de crise, deveria haver um período de 6 meses de Ditadura para endireitar as coisas, depois voltava-se à Democracia..." (In times of crisis, we should have a period of 6 months of dictatorship to straighten things up, then return to democracy...) – Manuela Ferreira Leite, general secretary of PSD, about the current economic crisis.
  • "Eu nunca me engano e raramente tenho dúvidas." (I'm never wrong and rarely I have doubts.) – Aníbal Cavaco Silva, current President of Portugal, but said when he was Prime Minister.
  • "Olhe que não, doutor, olhe que não!" (We do not, we do not!) – answer from Álvaro Cunhal, secretary-general of the Communist Party, to Mário Soares, secretary-general of the Portuguese Socialist Party, in 1975, after the latter accused him in a television debate of wanting a dictatorship for Portugal.

Roman Empire

  • Veni, vidi, vici ("I came, I saw, I conquered"), reportedly written by Julius Caesar in 47 BC as a comment on his short war with Pharnaces II of Pontus in the city of Zela
  • Alea iacta est ("The die is cast"), attributed by Suetonius to Julius Caesar on 10 January 49 BC as he led his army across the River Rubicon in northern Italy
  • "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" ("Furthermore, I think Carthage must be destroyed"), Cato the Elder about one of Rome's rivals

Romania

Russia

  • "Мы вам покажем кузькину мать!" (We shall show you Kuzka's mother!) – Nikita Khrushchev used this expression in public when addressing Richard Nixon in 1959 during a discussion about communism vs. capitalism.
  • "Есть такая партия!" (Yest' takaya partiya – There is such a party!) – Lenin's reply to the Menshevik leader Irakli Tsereteli, who said in June 1917 that there was no political party willing to demand that the Provisional Government resign and hand power over to it.<ref>Есть такая партия! – Wikipedia in Russian</ref>
  • "…Мы будем преследовать террористов везде. В аэропорту – в аэропорту. Значит, Вы уж меня извините, в туалете поймаем, мы и в сортире их замочим, в конце концов." (We will pursue terrorists everywhere. At an airport – okay, at an airport. But, pardon me, if we catch them in a bathroom, then we'll just have to dip them in the crapper [literally; colloquial meaning is "kill them in the toilet"].) Vladimir Putin at a press conference in Astana 24 September 1999.
  • "Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда" (Wanted to do good, result: the usual.) Prime Minister of Russia (1992–1998) Viktor Chernomyrdin at a press conference 6 August 1993 on currency reform.<ref>ru:Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда</ref>
  • "Мы будем уничтожать наше ядерное оружие вместе с Америкой." В.С.Черномырдин (We will be destroying our nuclear weapons and America too), Viktor Chernomyrdin, Prime Minister of Russia (1992–1998). He intended to mean "jointly with the Americans", not the potential 'killing two birds with one stone' misinterpretation.

Slovakia

  • "Starý ujo" (Old Uncle). In 1996, the future President of Slovakia Ivan Gašparovič called the then President of Slovakia Michal Kováč an old dick ("chuj" being a vulgar term derived from the Russian mat) - "Gusto, poď to dokončiť. Mňa tam volajú k tomu starému chujovi." (Gusto, come and finish it for me. They are calling me there to attend to that old dick.) He later claimed he said "starým ujom" (old uncle) instead.

Spain

Monarchy

Prime Ministers

MPs

  • ¡Manda Huevos!Federico Trillo, former Minister of Defense and President of the Congress of Deputies

Others

Sweden

  • "Vår beredskap är god" (Our [state of] readiness is good), said by Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson on 27 August 1939 on national Swedish radio about the readiness state of the Swedish armed forces. In hindsight, Sweden could not have defended itself against a German invasion, partly because Hansson had led a major disarmament campaign since the 1920s. Nowadays, it is used as a derogatory term describing a statement which is obviously false but intended to keep people calmed down.
  • "Gärna medalj, men först en rejäl pension" (A medal is fine, but proper retirement pay is first priority), slogan for the Social Democrats in the 1958 general election. The medal referred to is the "För nit och redlighet i rikets tjänst" which is usually given as a retirement award, military and civil service alike, for more the 30 years of long and faithful government employment.
  • "Nån jävla ordning får det vara i ett parti" (There must be some damn order in a party), uttered by C.-H. Hermansson, leader of the Communist Party (present-day Left Party) at a party convention 1969.
  • "Att vara liberal är att vara kluven" (Being liberal is being torn), uttered by Gunnar Helén, leader of the Liberal Party.
  • "Nja till EU" (Both yes and no to the EU), catch phrase for the Centre Party in the mid-90's
  • "Vård, skola och omsorg" (Healthcare, schools and care [for children, the elderly and the disabled]) The focus areas for the Social Democrats during the 2002 general election.
  • "Att ställa krav är att bry sig" (Demanding is caring [about people]), catch phrase for the Liberal Party during the 2002 general election.
  • "Alla ska med" (Everyone [in society] must be on board) The Social Democrats' catchphrase during the 2006 general election.
  • "Det måste löna sig att arbeta" (It must pay to work) The core message of Alliance for Sweden's labour market policy during and after the 2006 general election.
  • "Om man är socialdemokrat, då tycker man att det är häftigt att betala skatt. För mig är skatt det finaste uttrycket för vad politik är." (If you're a Social Democrat, you think it's cool to pay taxes. To me, taxes are the most beautiful expression of what politics is about.", said by Mona Sahlin in an interview on SVT, in 1994. Often shortened to "Det är häftigt att betala skatt." The phrase was quoted by Anders Borg, in 2011.

Switzerland

Tanzania

  • "Panya kwao darini hata kama kuna giza!" (No place like home!) The phrase Rodrick Mashayo chose to convince his family to join him back home.<ref name="ReferenceA">Adolf Ogi- Witze und Anekdoten. Retrieved 26 May 2008.</ref>
  • "I think some people become leaders by mistake" Said by Edwin Mashayo when was disappointed by malicious acts of some leaders.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Turkey

  • "Dün dündür, bugün bugündür" (Yesterday was yesterday, today is today) by Süleyman Demirel
  • "Yollar yürümekle aşınmaz!" (Roads won't wear by walking) by Süleyman Demirel
  • "Verdimse ben verdim." (If it was given by me, I gave it) by Süleyman Demirel
  • "Ege bir Yunan gölü değildir. Ege bir Türk gölü de değildir. Aslında Ege, göl değildir. (Aegean is not a Greek Lake. Aegean is not a Turkish Lake. In fact, Aegean is not a Lake.) by Süleyman Demirel
  • "Durmak yok, yola devam." (Don't stop, keep moving.) by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
  • "Hayaldi gerçek oldu." (It was a dream, but now realized) by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Ukraine

  • "Любі друзі..." (Dear friends) phrase often used in speeches by Viktor Yushchenko, 3rd president of Ukraine.
  • "Я верю, что сильных и здоровых людей намного больше, чем этих козлов, которые мешают нам жить!" (I believe that there are more strong and healthy people, than these bastards, which are disturbing us) by Viktor Yanukovich, 4rth Ukrainian president (2004, during president election campaign, about those, who were supporting his opponents)
  • "Працював, очолював підприємства. І от уже 10 років як став чиновником і, так сказати, вліз у дєрьмо" (I was working, leading enterprise. 10 years ago I became a bureaucrat and I stepped in the shit), by Viktor Yanukovich, 4th Ukrainian president (2004, during president election campaign, during the meeting in Zhytomyr region)
  • "А чего эти дебилы не расходятся?" (Why won't these morons leave already?) by Viktor Yanukovich, 4rth Ukrainian president (December 2009, after the meeting about people, who came on meeting. Vasylkiv, Kiev region)

United Kingdom

United States

Vatican

Venezuela

  • "Moral y Luces serán nuestras primeras necesidades" ("Moral and Light will be our first needs"; by Simón Bolívar)
  • "PDVSA ahora es roja, rojita." ("PDVSA has become red, very red") said by the President of PDVSA (Venezuelan National Petroleum Company)
  • "¿Por qué no te callas?" ("Why don't you shut up?") said by King Juan Carlos of Spain to Hugo Chávez.
  • "Compañeros, lamentablemente por ahora los objetivos que nos planteamos no fueron logrados en la ciudad capital" ( "Folks: unfortunately, for now, the objectives that we had were not fully accomplished in the capital city (Caracas)") said by Hugo Chávez 4 February 1992, after the failure of his coup attempt.
  • "Por ahora" ("For now") is a Venezuelan political catch phrase that alludes to the declarations made by Hugo Chávez after the failure of the coup attempt he led in 1992. The phrase has been used in various occasions after the coup attempt, most notably by Chávez after his proposal for constitutional reform was rejected by the Venezuelan people.
  • "Sembrar el petróleo" ("sowing oil"; phrase coined by Arturo Uslar Pietri when suggesting the use of oil revenue to develop the nation)
  • "Calma y cordura" ("Calmness and composure"; frequently used by President Eleazar López Contreras during his turbulent reign)




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