Seite - 603 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

Count Karl Stürgkh (1859–1916) 603 fabric of command. Perhaps with this degree of attention directed towards the heir to the throne, the Germans also sought to stem his evident anti-German trends, which were, however, more a whim. During his stay in Berlin at the beginning of October 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm therefore attempted to give the heir to the throne some under- standing of his thoughts on an intervention in Austrian domestic policy. There were two people who the German Kaiser wanted to see removed with the help of Karl : For- eign Minister Burián and the Imperial and Royal Prime Minister Count Stürgkh. Karl allegedly said to Wilhelm that Stürgkh could be replaced by Prince Konrad Hohenlohe. The German Kaiser was satisfied with this.1389 It was again the Austrian Prime Minister who had been pointed out as responsible for the overall situation of the Austro-Hun- garian Monarchy. Count Karl Stürgkh (1859–1916) At this point in time, Stürgkh hardly had anyone any longer who, at least verbally, came out in his favour. Instead, he had all the more opponents, and the correspondent of the Neue Freie Presse, reporting from Vienna, Dr Goldemund, expressed what was probably a widely-held view, when he reported to the Foreign Ministry in Berlin that Stürgkh was not only incapable but also a pliable tool in the hands of Hungary and the court. He was a schemer who damaged Germany wherever he could, and Austria simply could not understand that ‘Germany sits by and watches these goings-on for so long and does not energetically demand the removal of Count Stürgkh’. His main fault, continued Goldemund, was that he consulted with the highly treasonous Czechs. He agreed with the heir to the throne Archduke Karl to the effect that the Czechs consti- tuted the best countermeasure to German influence.1390 However, no-one really knew who should be appointed prime minister instead of Stürgkh. Conrad wanted a military dictatorship, whilst Archduke Karl spoke of Kon- rad Hohenlohe, the former Interior Minister, who had resigned because of a conflict with Stürgkh. The German ambassador brought Archduke Eugen into play, who was the only one with the will and the power to again procure for the Germans the position in the state due to them.1391 Bethmann Hollweg was also pleased with Archduke Eu- gen. But he was not acceptable either to the old Emperor or to the heir to the throne, since Eugen possessed the qualities of an emperor, and this was exactly what they were not looking for. Thus, everyone somehow remained isolated with their problems, desires and sugges- tions, and the only thing that united them was their waiting for results. Josef Redlich describes this wait as a succession of dinners and highly important discussions with the aftertaste of the latrine. Amidst his sense of resignation, Conrad repeatedly hinted at