Regarding the Phnom Penh Post article "Agreement a tough sell" published on July 24: It takes guts and wisdom for a leader to go sometimes against the tide of public opinion, especially that of his own supporters.

Here are a few examples:

• Charles de Gaulle in June 1940, when he called on the French to resist the German invasion while the majority followed Petain, who then struck a compromise with Hitler.

• Mitterrand in 1981, when he abolished the death penalty in France while the majority of the French people favoured capital punishment.

Here it took guts for Sam Rainsy to enter into a deal with Hun Sen, who has a history of harassing him.

After all, if the July 22, 2014, agreement is faithfully applied, the most important demand of the opposition – the overhaul of the National Election Committee – will be achieved and the next elections will be fair and acceptable to all parties.

It is not forbidden to hope that Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy will show mature statesmanship and travel together a portion of the road toward national reconciliation and Cambodian territorial integrity.

Chum Sirath

Phnom Penh