Niccolò Machiavelli lived in Florence between 1469 and 1527. He is considered the founder of modern political thought, particularly for his seminal work, The Prince.
In it he formulates useful policy recommendations, in his opinion, for rulers.
To what extent can the first steps of the current government be understood in light of those recommendations?
One of them advises the president to “think about all the rigorous acts that need to be done, and do them all at once.”
There is no doubt that President Milei strictly followed this recommendation by signing the DNU and sending the “omnibus law” to Congress as soon as he took office.
The detail is that Machiavelli also warned that "no matter how strong the prince's armies are, he always needs the favor of at least a part of the inhabitants of the province, to enter it."
Let's replace inhabitants with deputies and the reason for the prominent Florentine will be seen.
The presidential reaction to those who did not support with their vote the particular treatment of the bill in the Chamber of Deputies also conforms to the recommendations of the Florentine thinker: “Men must be pampered or crushed, because they take revenge for the light offenses, since they cannot do serious ones: the affront that is done to a man must be such that there is no occasion to fear his revenge.”
Faced with the attempt to form a political alliance, a limit is set forth by the Florentine in these terms: “he who helps another to become powerful causes his own ruin.”
The writer distrusts alliances: if thanks to them the prince achieves victory, it will be a Pyrrhus-style victory, since he will remain a prisoner of the one who helped him, he warns.
Therefore, the wise prince will prefer to lose with his own weapons than win with those of others.
Referring to any ruler who decides to innovate, Machiavelli points out that he will have as enemies those who have benefited from the previous situation, the “caste” in the President's language.
In any case, he recommends finding an enemy to, by attacking him, cause an increase in his own greatness.
Next, he warns about the variability in people's moods.
“It is easy to make them believe something, but difficult to make them persist in their belief.”
One reputation he advises cultivating is stinginess.
She will be celebrated because she will avoid resorting to new taxes.
“There is no money” is the current version of the Machiavellian advice.
The Prince highlights the role of “rare and wonderful actions” in gaining popular esteem.
The trip to Antarctica or the visit to the Wailing Wall and the Pope seem to fulfill such a precept.
Just after 500 years of his death, Machiavelli's ideas remain valid for interpreting contemporary reality.
His recommendations were the fruit of his experience as a statesman and diplomat, a career that also led him to experience prison when power returned to the Medicis, after the republican interregnum during which Machiavelli worked in government tasks. .
Víctor Beker is an economist. Professor at the University of Belgrano and the UBA