Powerlessness of the powerful

I often use this formula in my speeches in Europe – a mirror image of Vaclav Havel's formula.

Havel spoke of the "power of the powerless" as something that will sooner or later destroy tyranny. I speak of the "powerlessness of the strong" as something that can destroy democracy.

the "power of the powerless" is the idea that power is never complete, that tyranny is not able to control and suppress everything. Instead, the "powerlessness of the powerful" is the idea that freedom is never complete, and that every freedom (and the struggle for it) is actually a hidden slavery.