He is a bit like Bonaparte, a little more Führer...

Did you know that Napoleon Bonaparte was an ill-mannered person? If you didn't, now you know. It's in Stefan Zweig's book. Although not as much as Trump, he was also blunt-mouthed and, when angry, would say harsh words to his subordinates and enemies – probably something like the "var-yox conversation" in our folklore. He says, one day, the foreign minister Talleyrand had made some blunder, so Napoleon called him, berated him harshly, insulted him in every possible way. When Talleyrand left Napoleon’s presence utterly humiliated, he said to Napoleon’s adjutant: "It's a pity that this genius is ill-mannered." Napoleon was dominant and impatient. The story about what he said to General Augereau, who was a head taller than him, is also interesting. For some reason, the general had been resisting Napoleon. Eventually, the emperor lost his patience and said, "General, don't make me draw my sword and measure the difference between our heights." The accounts of the French dictator recall Donald Trump, who has become a headache for America and the world. For several days, the global media have been discussing what he said to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. For those who don't know, Trump said, referring to MbS, that he never thought he would kiss his behind. (The word in our language is more laconic and sounds better, but it is inappropriate for public speech.) Now people all over the world say this is disgraceful; a person who is president and governs a large superpower consisting of 50 states should not speak like that. As if it's acceptable for the head of a tiny island state to curse around, but it's not appropriate for the leader of a great power. Once a person is ill-mannered, it doesn't matter what position he holds or how many billions he has earned; he will curse and insult. A child must be repeatedly told in childhood that they should not use bad language. It is noticeable that nobody has ever told Trump such things, and he also picked up the habit of speaking harshly like Sonny’s kids. Now from time to time, the old bee roars and loses himself. Hitler was also an angry and foul-mouthed man. Old newsreels show that when he was upset, he spoke so fiercely that his hair would get messed up. A man who talks in such fury must be swearing. If he doesn’t swear, why is he so angry? Stalin is not described as a swearing man. He did not lose his temper in a heap. When he got angry, he could quickly control himself, but one or two thousand people would go on an errand. He even had quite a few jokes. At a victory banquet in the Kremlin, Stalin turned to a general responsible for supplies at the headquarters and said, "Do you remember, Comrade Petrov, in those hard years we kept our optimism and even joked." It turned out that every time Stalin met Petrov in the corridor, he would stop and ask, "Comrade Petrov, have they not shot you yet?" The poor man would come home and be unable to sleep all night thinking they would come to take him away. After three or four such incidents, Petrov got used to it, but still feared every time. Polite joking is a different matter. Our contemporaries—Putin also speaks harsh words when angry. If you recall, over 20 years ago, he said about a terrorist caught and killed in a toilet: "We will 'finish off' all of them." This phrase was repeated many times in the press and social media until a few years ago, but now it is impossible; the phrase is serious and can be regarded as "discrediting the army." Also, Putin threatened then-President of Georgia Saakashvili, saying he would hang him by his balls. Saakashvili gave him a firm but polite reply. However, yesterday Putin behaved in a cultured and polite manner with Pashinyan at the Kremlin. Although when watching fragments of the meeting, it seems that Vladimirovich will immediately stand up and reprimand Vovayevich right by the ear so badly there will be no room for banter. If it were Trump, by God, he would do that. Last year at this time, with Vice President Pence at the White House, they were close to beating Zelensky, but someone intervened. It would have been a disgrace. A dignified person is different. For example, China’s leader Xi Jinping. He always smiles and looks gentle. One gets the impression that Comrade Xi occasionally even pours tea for his aides. Kim Jong-un also seems like a polite person, not someone who uses bad language – despite ordering his general to be shot in the face of a cannon. Otherwise, when a world leader says to his counterpart from another country, "I will come and crush you," the response is certainly, "You are a coward who can’t come." Samir SARI