Otherwise, the individual members who rose by luck can’t build a cohesive, effective council, even though they have precedents to fall back on: New councils are bound to fall into disarray unless they have capable members or a leader of extraordinary ability who can rise to the challenge of management. “Cases, moreover, arise in which those who have little experience of affairs are sure to be misled, from the matters with which they have to deal being attended by many deceptive appearances such as lead men to believe whatsoever they are minded to believe.” They are easy prey for stronger, more experienced politicians and staff who seek to bend them to their own designs. They collapse or dither at the first crisis. They don’t have the necessary networks of allies and supporters to undertake great deeds.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE WHO NEEDS ENEMIES HOW TO
“…if you would be obeyed you must know how to command, and that they alone have this knowledge who have measured their power to enforce, with the willingness of others to yield obedience and who issue their orders when they find these conditions combining, but, otherwise, abstain.”
They never led a group before.No one will follow them. “Neither have they the knowledge requisite for the position because, unless they are men of great knowledge and ability, it is not reasonable to expect that a mere private citizen should know how to command, besides, they cannot hold it because they have not loyal forces which they can keep friendly and faithful.” Machiavelli writes that not much can be expected of these new rulers who rose through chance or on the coattails of more powerful allies, rather than on their own ability: Mediocrity in newcomers who got into office by luck is common, which, coupled with inexperience, can be a potent recipe for failure.
Sometimes they choose someone they don’t know, because familiarity breeds contempt. Sometimes they simply choose someone they know – common in small municipalities. When voters have to choose between lesser evils, they sometimes choose the most innocuous, least harmful candidate. On your way up the ladder of power, beware of who you hurt because they won’t forget, and they will repay those hurts when they can.Too often, those who rise by sheer good luck aren’t the best of the crop, either. Weak men may forget, and even forgive, but stronger ones have long memories. “Such stand simply upon the goodwill and the fortune of him who has elevated them – two most inconstant and unstable things.” This, too, is dangerous, because your rise and fall now depends on the reputation and goodwill of your benefactor.
Sometimes you win because you have a powerful ally already in power, whose support convinces others to vote for you. It’s entirely possible to win your seat by other means than ability. “Those who solely by good fortune become princes from being private citizens have little trouble in rising, but much in keeping atop they have not any difficulties on the way up, because they fly, but they have many when they reach the summit.” In Chapter VII: Concerning New Principalities Which are Acquired Either by the Arms of Others or by Good Fortune, Machiavelli wrote that those who effortlessly won an election through luck faced a lot more problems when they took power: The result was a split vote on the right that let a third party’s candidate effortlessly win the seat. A few years ago, when the federal Conservative and Reform parties were independent and competing, they both often ran candidates in one riding.
Sometimes you win an election because you were lucky: you happened to be in the right place at the right time.
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