The key ideas of The Prince were to instruct on how to be a strong, dependent leader. The text suggested that Italy needed a rather ruthless leader to maintain a safe state.Machiavelli received a great amount of criticism for dismissing popular opinions in politics, sticking with his idea of a cruel leader. However, this did influence European rulers to begin thinking in a more realistic way, determining what's likely to come of a human rather than simply hoping for good.
