14. Essays from "Deutsche Wochenschrift"

The Week of March 29-April 4, 1888

The statesmen on the Seine and their eastern stepbrothers on the Dimbowitza have brought us a political Easter. On both sides, stormy scenes in the popular representation, the fall of the government and the formation of new ministries. The Tirard Ministry, the first to be appointed by the new President Carnot, was overthrown after some three or four months of activity, which can by no means be called an insignificant one - since it included the military reprimand of the indisciplined General Boulanger - because it had, it may be said, insisted for no real reason on not allowing the question of a possible revision of the Constitution to be discussed. The French Constitution, which at the time was adopted by the tiniest majority of one vote, is in fact in need of revision in more than one respect; such a revision, carried out with statesmanlike moderation, in no way threatens the peace and order to which the so-called opportunists under Ferry and the honest republicans under Brisson seem to have given themselves over. The right and the radicals united against Tirard, who, glad to be free of the burden, immediately submitted his resignation to the President. Carnot appointed the only man in the situation, Floquet, the President of the Chamber, who is also considered the leader of the moderate radicals, for whom he is roughly what Gambetta was to the opportunists at the time. With remarkable rapidity, Floquet formed a purely radical cabinet, in which Mr. de Freycinet holds the war portfolio, and the clever Goblet, himself once Prime Minister, the foreign portfolio. The appointment of a civilian to the Ministry of War was a bold and radical gamble on Floquet's part, who himself took over the interior; the future will tell whether it succeeds; there is good reason to doubt it. Floquet then developed his program in the chamber, which can be called a moderately radical one, to the silence of the right-wingers and opportunists and to the sometimes overloud applause of the left. It will be time to examine it more closely if the Prime Minister has time to put it into practice. The fact that Clemenceau received the most votes in the first election of the President of the Chamber seems to indicate that after a Floquet ministry, a Clemenceau cabinet is still possible after a few changes; one is only somewhat in doubt as to whether we already have the grand ministere radical before us, or whether this will only be brought to us by the Doctor of Montmartre, who has some relations with Vienna.

In Bucharest, things were no less stormy than in Paris. Bratianu, initially in the favor of the vast majority of the people as well as the king, and thus seemingly completely certain to remain prime minister, has now finally withdrawn and made way for a ministry of young conservatives, who also call themselves Juneists. Although the King entrusted the formation of the cabinet and the presidency to Rosetti, the former Romanian envoy in Vienna, Carp, who was given the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is generally regarded as the soul of the cabinet. Although it is generally assured that Romania under King Carol will never depart in its external policy from that of the Central European imperial powers, the recent disturbances in Bucharest, in which the evil Russian influence is quite transparent, have brought so many surprises that it is dangerous to express any firm opinion as to the probable development of affairs in Romania. If, as is feared in some quarters, a revolutionary movement should break out against the Hohenzollern kingdom as a result of Russian influence, it would probably have to be regarded as the first and most serious harbinger of a great war.

In the meantime, our economic and financial circles have not allowed themselves to be depressed by these political worries; they are relying on the era of peace under Emperor Frederick III. The latest news about the condition of the dear sick man is very contradictory; while his two visits to Berlin are mostly interpreted optimistically, unfortunately very serious reports are again coming from generally well-informed sources. The King has issued an amnesty for the Prussian people at Easter, which, although considerably extended, does not include the much hoped-for application to all those punished under the Socialist Law. On r. April, the German Chancellor Prince Bismarck celebrated his birthday; at the dinner he gave, Crown Prince Wilhelm offered him his toast as the standard bearer of the Reich. Rudolf von Bennigsen, the leader of the National Liberals, received a high distinction by being awarded the Order of the Red Eagle, first class, which, like the deserving recipient, particularly honors the party he leads and must be regarded as a remarkable manifestation of the Emperor.

The initiated negotiations on a settlement between Russia and the Curia continue. - In Denmark the parliament has adjourned; in Serbia the new radical Skupchina has begun its activities.