Politicians only get to the top because they have no qualifications to detain them at the bottom.
Peter Ustinov (1921-2004) English actor, author, director
(Attributed)
Ustinov apparently used the phrase several times, with slight variations.
- As quoted above, in International Celebrity Register (1959) [ed. Cleveland Amory]
- Also appears in Ustinov's article, "Politics and the Arts", The Atlantic, Vol. 218 (1966)
- "People who reach the top of the tree are only those who haven't got the qualifications to detain them at the bottom." -- Interview with David Frost (1969)
- "I believe those who rise to the top of the political tree just didn’t have the qualifications to detain them at the bottom." (Source)