Few governments do what they want: most only do what they can. Power structures are flexible and usually adapt to newly elected rulers, but afterwards they always tend to regain its previous shape. The reasons behind political decisions are often more related to human idiosyncrasies and to chance than usually thought. In a democracy, the ability of a President or a Prime Minister to impose his agenda is so limited that more than power we should talk about influence. It is never easy to say to what extent rulers hold power or power holds rulers. All this is particularly true in the field of foreign policy. Geography, history and economic weight predetermine foreign policy to such an extent that newly elected rulers seldom manage to change it at all, and when they do it rarely results in anything good.