Power must always be exercised to be retained, yes. But I doubt power must be publicly exercised in order to remain viable. And rulers never rule, they hold cou

Power must always be exercised to be retained, yes. But I doubt power must be publicly exercised in order to remain viable. And rulers never rule, they hold court, and they must retain the favor of the court to be viable. See "Rules for Rulers": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs I believe one example of this was how Napoleon III lost the favor of Alexis de Tocqueville, and hence was toppled as Emperor of France: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville