We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and these interests it is our duty to follow.

Palmerston made this remark while defending the conduct of British foreign policy in Parliament during the mid‑Victorian era, when Britain’s diplomacy was shaped by shifting continental alliances and imperial interests. As Foreign Secretary and later Prime Minister, he was frequently criticized for opportunism—supporting one power in one crisis and opposing it in another. In a Commons speech (often dated to 1848) he argued that Britain should not be bound by sentimental loyalty to particular states, but should act according to enduring national interests. The line became emblematic of “realist” statecraft and of Palmerston’s own reputation for hard‑headed, interest‑driven diplomacy.

The aphorism rejects the idea that nations should treat alliances or rivalries as moral commitments. Palmerston frames foreign policy as a continuous calculation of national interest: friendships and enmities are contingent, but a state’s security and prosperity are lasting obligations. The rhetoric (“eternal and perpetual”) gives moral weight to what might otherwise sound cynical, recasting pragmatism as duty. The quote is often invoked to describe realpolitik—arguing that international relations are governed less by loyalty than by changing circumstances—and it also hints at the instability of the international system, where today’s partner can become tomorrow’s adversary if interests diverge.

1) “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”
2) “Nations have no permanent friends or allies; they only have permanent interests.”