"(A ruler) cannot and should not keep..." - Quote by Niccolo Machiavelli
(A ruler) cannot and should not keep his word when to do so would go against his interests or when the reason he pledged it no longer holds.
More by Niccolo Machiavelli
“The best fortress which a prince can possess is the affection of his people.”
“For as good habits of the people require good laws to support them, so laws, to be observed, need good habits on the part of the people.”
“No one should therefore fear that he cannot accomplish what others have accomplished, for, men are born, live, and die in quite the same way they always have.”
More on Leadership
“We cannot lead anyone farther than we have been ourselves.”
“People like me sound like a lot of big cannons.”
“My job is exhilarating. It's challenging. I find that the governance part of it, the decision making part of it - actually comes - comes pretty naturally. I think I've got a great team. I think we're making good decisions. The the hardest thing about the job is staying focused. Because there's so many demands and decisions that are pressed upon you.”
More on Pragmatism
“Parties who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of the field in hope that the cow will back up to them.”
“If you have to eat crow, eat it while it's young and tender.”
“I think our basic principle that this is a free market system and that that has worked for us, that it creates innovation and risk taking, I think that's a principle that we've gotta hold to as well. But what I don't wanna do is get bottled up in a lot of ideology and is this conservative or liberal. My interest is finding something that works.”