A government must not waiver once it has chosen it’s course. It must not look to the left or right but go forward.

The saying expresses a core principle often associated with Bismarck’s style of statecraft: once a government commits to a strategic direction, it should pursue it with steadiness rather than being pulled off course by shifting factions, public moods, or tactical distractions. Read this way, “not looking left or right” is a metaphor for resisting opportunistic zigzags and projecting resolve—both to domestic opponents and to foreign powers watching for weakness. The emphasis is less on the moral rightness of the chosen course than on the political necessity of consistency, suggesting that credibility and authority depend on follow-through after a decision is made.