“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” - Thomas Paine
Those quotes are about government itself, not leadership. Government is a necessary evil, but that does not mean that heroic men can’t be in charge of governments. Government by its nature is corrupting of those in power so anyone who does good when in charge has a certain heroism.
We should have statues aplenty of Washington, Churchill, and in future years Zelensky.