I wonder if Ceaușescu saw it coming?
“I wonder if Ceaușescu saw it coming?”
Actually, Ceaușescu was shocked that he wasn’t loved and adored by the unwashed masses. Dissent had been so effectively squashed that he was unaware of what people really thought. And that is the problem with squashing public (and private) displays of people’s real opinions.
I’m not sure what Ceaușescu could have done differently if he’d known. The problem with glasnost is it lets the genie out of the bottle and there’s no putting it back. This is why Xi has clamped down far harder and more effectively than Ceaușescu ever could have. I’m guessing however that in Xi’s case it will make the end, when it comes, far more spectacular. For example, instead of using a rifle whoever kills Xi may use an artillery piece, a jet bomber or even a nuke.
No, Ceausescu did not see it coming. You could tell by the expression on his face that day on the balcony lying to the crowd.
And he never believed they would actually execute him, but they did.
Evil dies hard.