August 1, 2025

The greatest gift of any statesman rests not in knowing what concessions to make, but recognizing when to make them.

Prince Metternich (1773–1859), Austrian statesman, Concessionen und Nicht-concessionen (1852), Jay p.258

Which concessions, to which you were a party, were made at the right time? The wrong time? What made the difference?

The acknowledgement that statesmen sometimes have to make concessions suggests a realistic reactionary, and Metternich set the gold standard of reaction in his time. Those who refuse to consider any concessions, other than to themselves, have no place in a democracy.