Today's text is a short excerpt from an interview with British historian Timothy Garton Ash, published two weeks ago in the German magazine Der Spiegel.
SPIEGEL: You've met many politicians in person. Who made the biggest impression on you?
Garton Ash: Václav Havel.
SPIEGEL: But you also write in your book that he would have done better if people remembered him as a man who gave speeches and never became president.
Gartion Ash: Yes, but we once had a friendly discussion about whether one can be an intellectual and a politician at the same time. My answer was: No. It is loosely based on Kant that kings should not philosophize and philosophers should not become kings. Of course his answer was: They should try it!
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