The same with Mao, in terms of balancing good and bad policies, of their OWN time.
He also tried to quit three times, he was denied each time.
He complained about how they should introduce a retirement age for politicians when he tried unsucsesfully to resign when he was age 80.
Unsure with Stalin, likely true.
I got this from a interview he did with an american news channel (wild how in the 90s you just had chinese leaders going over to american chat shows and talking for a few hours lol)
Wallace: Last question. You are number one in China. How long do you intend to continue to be the chief leader and the chief adviser?
Deng: I am all for the abolition of life tenure and the institution of a retirement system. As you know, I told the Italian correspondent Oriana Fallaci that my plan was to work until 1985. It’s already a year beyond that date. I am now considering when to retire. Personally, I should like to retire soon. However, this is a rather difficult question. It is very hard to persuade the Party rank and file and the Chinese people to accept that. I believe if I retire before I die, it will help ensure the continuation of the present policies. It will also be in keeping with my own wishes. However, I need to work harder to talk people around. In the end, as I am a member of the Communist Party, I must obey the decision of the Party. I am a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, so I must obey the will of the people. I am still hoping that I can succeed in persuading the people to come round to my view.
Wallace: You told Fallaci “until 1985”; what will you tell me?
Deng: To be quite frank, I am trying to persuade people to let me retire at the Party’s Thirteenth National Congress next year. But so far, all I have heard is dissenting voices on all sides.
https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/deng-xiaoping/1986/192.htm
Wow! If I had a nickel for every time a Communist "dictator" was repeatedly denied permission to retire from his position by his Party, I'd have two nickels—which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
In communist china you try to quit your job and the people vote on it and say 'no'
Do you happen to have a source? I was just talking with a friend earlier about how the CPC explicitly acknowledges past mistakes like some of Mao's later career.
I feel the ability to self-reflect and publically self-criticize is something that is missing in a lot of country's leaders. It's nice to read when it happens.
Deng: Hmm… listen, I have made mistakes — yes, sometimes serious ones. But I never made them with bad intentions; I always made them with good intentions. My conscience is clear about my own life. Hmm… listen, I think I could give myself fifty percent. Yes, fifty percent would be all right.
https://redsails.org/deng-and-fallaci/
I don't do star ratings, tier lists or hypotheticals but if I strain myself I can answer within 24 hours
It's too early to tell. I say let's wait a couple more decades and see what happens.
