Breaking Ranks

British Billionaire: Democracy Is Useless

Heather Horn Oct 19, 2010
Bernie Ecclestone is a British billionaire sports entrepreneur. He last made headlines by praising Hitler's ability to "get things done." That was in a Times of London interview in 2009. He took a couple of swings at democracy at the time, too.

Over a year later, it is still his considered opinion that democracy just isn't that great. His response when The Guardian asked him--in an interview published today--whether he "lost any sleep last year" over the earlier controversy: it wasn't that he loves Hitler so much as dictatorships.
I get myself into so much trouble when I say these things but I don't think democracy is the way to run anything. Whether it's a company or anything you need someone who is going to turn the lights on and off. We had Mrs Thatcher and when she was in charge she did turn the lights on and off. She brought the country to where it was before it got muddled up again.

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