Politics & Power Quote by Paddy Ashdown

Patriotism with a knife-edge: Ashdown separates “country” and “people” from “politicians” to reclaim national affection while indicting the class he technically belongs to. It’s a politician’s line that tries to sound like it isn’t one - a tactical confession meant to buy credibility in a climate where “Westminster” (or any capital) reads as a closed ecosystem. The opening repetition, “I love... I love...,” sets up warmth and belonging, then snaps into a blunt disavowal: “though I can’t say I love their politicians.” That hinge word “though” is doing heavy work, turning sentiment into a moral contrast.

The subtext is populist but not anti-democratic. Ashdown isn’t flattering “the people” as flawless; he’s positioning politics as the corrupting filter that turns ordinary decency into institutional cynicism. “People are always nicer than politicians” is a deliberately general statement, almost a shrug, before he sharpens it with the kicker: “here, you can mark that difference up a hundredfold.” Hyperbole becomes diagnosis. He’s signaling a specific place - likely a post-conflict or fragile democracy where public goodwill is palpable, while leaders are trapped in patronage, nationalism, or self-preservation. The “hundredfold” implies not just disappointment but a structural gap: citizens ready to live together, elites incentivized to keep them apart.

Context matters because Ashdown’s career straddled domestic party politics and international state-building. Read that way, the line doubles as a warning: treat local populations as partners, and treat their political class as a problem to be managed, pressured, or outgrown. It’s affectionate, yes, but also a hard-eyed field note from someone who’s seen how easily politics can betray the social fabric it claims to represent.