If any foreign minister begins to defend to the death a 'peace conference,' you can be sure his government has already placed its orders for new battleships and airplanes.
Joseph StalinRead
The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Elections are influenced more by those who tally the votes than by those who cast them.
This quote by Joseph Stalin highlights the critical importance of the vote counting process in determining election outcomes. It suggests that the power to sway results lies not just in the act of voting, but fundamentally in who has the control and authority over the counting process, emphasizing potential manipulation or control behind the scenes in electoral politics.
Themes
ElectionVotesPowerControlDemocracy
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on electoral integrity, one might use this quote.
More from Joseph Stalin
All quotes βI consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this - who will count the votes, and how.
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Print is the sharpest and the strongest weapon of our party.
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