Chris Patten
The Diplomat
People, composure and the difficult conversation held well.
Chris Patten is a seasoned political leader known for his role in navigating the complexities of governance and international relations. This interview reveals his commitment to diplomacy and the necessity of engaging with diverse perspectives to address pressing global challenges.
“He learnt every night to make the sign on his forehead when he was in the convoys I-N-R-I, may Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, preserve me from unprepared death. And he used to do that to us when we were kids growing up. He was in charge amazingly of gas warfare in the Middle East. He was a flight lieutenant.”
“For the daily bearer. I can't say that he was sort of, you know, he wasn't conspiring against his own policies, it were, but you always felt that Nicholas Ridley, who was his predecessor, was an absolute true believer, partly because that was the sort of politics he believed in, but also because it was coming from the holy Margaret and th…”
“I would have been vindicated, yeah. But vindication in politics doesn't have a great track record for future employment. You said, and I think you're right that it was less Europe. I think Europe became this convulsive issue for the Conservative Party. But I think you're right that the poll tax was the sort of beginning of the end.”
“1960s A couple of days before the interview, I was at dinner with Neil Kinnock, and I said to him, We're doing Chris Patton on the podcast. And Neil said, oh, yeah, he's a good man. He's a good man because they became colleagues at the European Commission.”
The Rest Is Politics: Leading — 110. Chris Patten: Conservatism, China, and the future of democracy
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