But if I were to say who influenced me most, then I'd say Franz Kafka. And his works were always anchored in the Central European region.

My dear fellow citizens: For forty years you have heard from my predecessors on this day different variations of the same theme: how our country flourished, how many millions of tons of steel we produced, how happy we all were, how we trusted our government, and what bright perspectives were unfolding in front of us. I assume you did not propose me for this office so that I, too, would lie to you.

It seems to me that one of the most basic human experiences, one that is genuinely universal and unites-or, more precisely, could unite-all of humanity, is the experience of transcendence in the broadest sense of the word.

It would appear that the traditional parliamentary democracies can offer no fundamental opposition to that automatism of technological civilization and the industrial-consumer society, for they too are being dragged helplessly along by it. People are manipulated in ways that are infinitely more subtle and refined than the brutal methods used in post-totalitarian societies.

Evil must be confronted in its womb, and, if it can't be done otherwise, then it has to be dealt with by the use of force.

Work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.

By perceiving ourselves as part of the river, we take responsibility for the river as a whole.