Political use of madness

Churchill, Bismarck and Cossiga all three were schizophrenic, and yet excellent politicans. But what I would like to point here is that their madness was not incidental in their career, but a fundamental tip to their success. At the beginning of World War II all reasonable people thought that Hitler and Germany were invincible, due to their extraordinary economic and military strenght. Only a mad could believe he Germany coul be beaten, and Britain resorted to a mad (Churchill) to win Hitler. Moreover, Hitler was obviously crazy, and in some way the history of World War II is the battle between two mads. Mads understand each other, whereas they are quite unpredictable to the sensed one.

Cossiga is a simialr story. Nobody dared to use the iron fist against the social movements and the armed struggle in the late '70 - in a context of Cold War and with a strong Communist Party. And what a sensible person would not dare to do, was done by a clever crazy.

A slightly different case is that of Margareth Thatcher. Mitterand said she had the eyes of Caligula: only an anaffective woman would have the gut to take the milk off from poor children in school, and the necessary character was found in Mrs Thatcher.