Only 25 upon ascension to the English throne in 1558, Queen Elizabeth I was awash with the attentions of men.  The king of Spain, the Earl of Sussex, the king of Sweden, the Earl of Leicester, the whole of Parliament, most of Europe’s ruling elite … all were consumed with the notion of whom she should marry and how soon.  Regardless of her status as the nation’s sovereign, the overriding male perspective was that a woman’s true function is (1) to wed and (2) be bred, as the matter was particularly relevant to establishing the uncontested line of succession. 

Despite her dad ordering her mother beheaded, Elizabeth ruled as her father’s child, and for nearly 50 years, the Virgin Queen manipulated a continent of men by remaining equally flirtatious, aloof, and quixotic, the vestal and immortal Body Politic of England.  The queen understood, and it is not difficult to recognize, that for her – as any woman – true power lay in her inaccessibility.  The moment a woman is rendered wife and mother she is reduced to those roles alone. 

I would rather be a beggar and single than a queen and married.
Queen Elizabeth I, 1533 – 1603

The identical ideology holds true on the path to power. 

One of the key strategies to securing power is the ability to forge alliances absent obligation, commitment, or promise.  Remain aloof while cultivating the spectre of accessibility.  Maintain independence, keep those options open, and others will fight to secure your favor.  But giving in, succumbing to one side or the other, choosing a side both irrevocably binds you and aligns you against all others. 

However, … tread carefully.  Be hard to get, not hard to want.  Become desired by being desirable.  The goal is not to alienate, but to excite … to arouse the attention … to stimulate the interest … to allow the flower of possibility while never intending it to bloom. 

Stay Above the Fray [p. 150]

Every new alliance breeds a new enemy.

Strength is preserved not in battle, but in avoiding the fight. 

One proven strategy is to play both sides … offer support to both while avoiding excessive entanglement with either.  And while both sides squabble, manifest the voice of mediation, of compromise, of neutrality and reason, and the winner will invariably seek your wise and measured counsel.

At the time of the 1968 U.S. presidential campaign, Henry Kissinger had served under the administrations of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, and he offered both Nixon and Humphreys his considerable expertise, experience, and information regarding matters of state.  Both sides accepted, and Kissinger joined Nixon’s cabinet as head of the National Security Council, ultimately receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to negotiate peace in the Vietnam War.  Kissinger was neither a republican nor a democrat; he was an opportunist who, by hedging his bets and remaining indifferent, sought (and got) a position of power.  By limiting his allegiance to and association with Nixon, and remaining outside, above, and beyond the scandal, Kissinger survived Watergate, continuing his role in power by serving as secretary of state under Ford. 

Independence, emotional discipline, and self-reliance foster greater respect than hasty alliance with one side over another.  Present the veneer of support to both side of a battle while committing to neither, and never assume the problems of another as your own.