Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 7: The Court of Public Opinion

Chapter 7: The Court of Public Opinion

Since his point had been made, Franz did not press the subject.

The capitalists were not people to toy with, possessing power that couldn't be ignored even if they didn't have a major position in government.

It was fine for Franz to question the social inequity; however, it would be out of the question to fight seriously against the bourgeois for the interests of the working class.

Franz thought it would be better to let the aristocratic conservatives finish this great and challenging task, and Prime Minister Metternich would be one of them.

Perhaps one day, capitalists would demand the expansion of voting rights, the implementation of constitutionalism, and the liberation of serfs, while the noble lords would call for labor laws to protect the rights and interests of the working class.

That hypothetical would only happen, however, when these two groups shouted their ideas out loud, and then the Austrian people would probably be dumbfounded anyway.

It was also the case in Austria that the aristocracy, who were still holding on to feudalism, had a natural conflict of interest with the capitalists and thus had not merged with them.

If by the beginning of the 20th century, nobles and capitalists formed a single interest group, then there would really be no way to solve the issue by political means. The only option would be to overthrow it and rebuild.

Franz had plans beyond just stirring up trouble in front of Metternich, for he didn't expect that what he said would impress the old, sly prime minister too much.

He also couldn't rely on their good relationship, because friendship was easy to dismiss in politics.

During the meeting, Franz had also gotten the qualification to run a newspaper. Newspapers were still under the control of the Austrian Empire's censorship.

Before the Vienna Revolution in March of 1848, there were 79 newspapers in all of Austria. 79 papers, not presses!

Given that a press always issued more than one newspaper, until the revolution, the number of presses was only going to get smaller.

From these numbers, you can see how hard it could be to run a newspaper at that time.

However, this was not much a problem for Franz. since the control of newspapers was intended to curb the spread of revolutionary ideas. Others might be in danger of supporting the Revolutionary Party, but not the heir to the throne, who surely could not revolutionize himself.

Franz, as a morally cultivated person, was concerned about the people, so his newspaper's name was "We Want Bread, We Want Cheese".

The definition of the newspaper was exactly the same as its name, and for the sake of security, he decided to place the newspaper office adjacent to the police station.

In those days, running a newspaper could be pretty troublesome: even Franz, who could omit the most cumbersome part—procedures--had to struggle to find the right staff and location.

The most essential part was editors and reporters: These people needed to have the zeal to face up to this cruel society, but not be too hot-tempered to remember who their boss was.

The unfortunate poet of the country, fortunately, was given a sorrowful sentence.

This verse was quite sensible. In the middle of the 19th century, a large number of literati emerged in Austria, some of whom insisted on putting their creative work first, while others diverted themselves with political games.

Still, the public influence of a pen was not comparable to that of the nobility.

For example, the Hungarian politician Kossuth, a major figure in propaganda, started working toward Hungary's revolution in 1847 and then became the head of the Republic of Hungary.

But because he was an idealist with the common faults of literati, often he drew up unrealistic plans, and thus his uprising was suppressed.

Franz was not in favor of Kossuth, even with his capability in propaganda, because he was an ultra-nationalist.

They were natural opposites, but if Franz wanted to, it would not be impossible to buy off him. However, Franz wasn't interested.

In his view, loyalty was far more important in an employee than ability. Even if it wasn't, at the very least, he should avoid the employment of an enemy.

After a moment of pondering, Franz listed a few names on a piece of paper, and then said: "Raul, send someone to investigate the background of these people, and if nothing abnormal comes up, send them each an invitation letter on behalf of the newspaper office."

"Yes, Archduke!" Raul replied quickly.

It was not easy to recruit people in those days, for the university was still an ivory tower to average people, where the children of the petty-bourgeois and nobles could study.

The so-called inspirational stories were full of lies, as the tuition fees were simply too high to be covered by any work-study program for impoverished families.

Thus, the situation of intellectuals was not as poor as people thought, except for those whose families had sunk back into poverty.

If you wanted to recruit newspaper staff, then, you would need to hang a billboard in a busy place, advertise in another newspaper, or get introductions from your acquaintances.

The last one—the introduction by acquaintances— certainly did not work for Franz, for none of his acquainted contacts were so low in rank that they would know any average worker. After all, dragons do not dwell with snakes.

Ultimately, though, it was nothing that required that much worry. It was not that hard to recruit ordinary workers to work in the newspaper office, compared to other industries. More than enough people would apply for the positions in the office since they were still comparably good jobs.

Journalists and editors, on the other hand, would take much more time to recruit, and for those positions, Franz invited only well-known intellectuals.

It didn't matter whether they came or not. If nothing else, the invitations would inform them that a new newspaper was being published in Austria, which could become an additional channel to earn a fee for publishing their articles.

Throughout the process, Franz never showed his face in public, although most of the staff would find out that he was the boss behind the scenes in the end.

If it weren't for the cost, Franz would not mind opening dozens of newspapers, all at once, to compete all-out for dominance of publicity.

But considering the issue of return on investment, Franz gave up that idea immediately and decisively. It was adequate for Franz to call the shots or set trends when needed by controlling one newspaper.

Reform in Austria had been going on for many years, and Prime Minister Metternich was a representative of the reformists.

He was beset from within and without: the domestic bourgeoisie was discontented with his reform, which didn't go far enough to fully satisfy their interests.

Meanwhile, the aristocratic conservatives also were averse to him, because he posed a problem for their interests by advocating the liberation of serfs.

Even the staff inside Vienna Court, in fact, took unkindly to him. The reason was simple: his bark was worse than his bite.

At this point, Franz was probably the one who understood him best. To paint a picture: the Austrian Empire was like a worm-eaten house, and no one knew how badly it would fall apart if any part of it were removed.

Thus, out of a cautious and responsible attitude, Metternich's reform was feeble for fear of triggering total collapse.

A reform led with cowardice or excess hesitation was doomed to fail. How could a reform succeed without bloodshed?