22
Cosmin-Ștefan Dogaru
minister (art. 93), which placed the prince in the middle of the power game between the
conservatives and the liberals. In the political regime, it can be noted that: “de Jure and de
facto, he [Charles I] appointed ministers, of course with several circumstantial limitations”
(Ghițulescu, 2015, p. 42).
Thus, the Romanian politicians, who were used to encourage the internal fight
with the aim of coming to power, had to accept a foreign prince, a German one, who wanted
to impose rules and who had a proper behavior for an European monarch.
With time, Charles I started to know the Romanian customs, trying to gradually
impose a new political behavior, which was necessary. The differences between the political
elite and the ruler were obvious from his first day on the throne (10/22 May 1866): “others
were complaining of /…/ the distance from the world, of the etiquette he introduced in the
court. In other times, if you were a man belonging to the good world /…/ you were going / …
/ without being dressed in a dress-suit at the palace and you told the doorman you wanted to
see His Highness /…/ and almost every time you were received. Now you had to make a
written demand a few days earlier / …/ to dress in a dress-suit and a white necktie and,
especially, to came to the palace exactly at the time indicated” (Rosetti, 2013, p. 480).
During the reign of native
rulers, the etiquette was not always necessary or used,
but things started to change. Charles I, of German origin, came from a European sovereign
family, with very well defined rules and behavior. The foreign prince gradually managed to
overcome the impediments and to impose a proper Western behavior at the court. At the same
time, some of the Romanian politicians had to become more open and to change their attitude.
It wasn’t easy, either for Charles I, or for the liberal or conservative politicians.
At that time, the “leadership” issue was a proof of political immaturity for the
liberals and the conservatives, who were unable to reach an understanding and to form,
separately, two great parties. In this context, “for a short period of time, the
Parliament was its
own master and was the most important actor in the country’s political life /…/ The debates,
both from the Chamber and the Senate, stand as a testimony of the lack
of rigor in the political
life: they were dramatic, unpredictable, often infinitely long. The ruler
tried to impose order in
these debates, unsuccessfully though, as being still a foreigner and not yet recognized as a
political personality, he wasn’t listened to by the crowd” (Hitchins, 2004, pp. 40-41). In
return, “in the absence of a dynastic feeling in the country, he [Charles I] could rely at that
time only on the prestige of the Hohenzollerns” (Hitchins, 2004, p. 41).
The monarch tried to impose a political behavior based on respect, austerity,
sobriety, but not all Romanian politicians were willing to change. Even so, Charles I backed
up the cooperation between liberals and conservatives, in the context in which, at his arrival,
there were several liberal and conservative political groups in Moldavia and
Wallachia
. Radu
Rosetti said about Charles I: “there is no doubt that Charles I had to endure many hardships
and that he overcome them only due to his prudence, patience and perseverance” (Rosetti,
2013, p. 416).
At that time, unity was difficult to attain because of the frequent leadership
problems of both the liberals and the conservatives. A speech made by Charles I at the
opening of the Legislature, on November 15/27 1868, a moment in which the monarch
pointed out the direction in which the state should go, is very revealing: “I can’t make a better
ending, my lords Senators and Deputies,
than to remind you that, however great the prosperity
of today’s Romania is, if quarrels and passions were to install among you, the Romanian state
will be imperiled; and on the contrary, if you stay united, at least regarding the nation and the
Throne, then we can overcome any peril and beat down any hardship, because then God will
bless your work” (Giurescu, 1939, p. 70).
The monarch’s powerful personality guided him in these difficult years, when he
tried to strengthen the Romanian state, although he had problems with some of the political
23
The German Prince and
the Romanian Political Elite
leaders, especially the radical liberals (Ion C. Brătianu, C. A. Rosetti etc.). The first years of
his reign were marked by the ruler’s adjustment to the Romanian political elite. In 1866-1871,
Romania was confronted with a political crisis that generated governmental and parliamentary
instability. The causes were simple and are connected with the politicians’ lack of experience
and the incapacity to communicate and to find useful solutions for the effectiveness of the
political regime.
Thus, the Romanian political regime underwent a series of changes regarding the
relationship between the ruler and the political elite. In the years 1870-1871, a strong
campaign initiated by the radical liberals influenced not only the governmental environment,
but also the person of Charles I, who was visibly affected by the attitude of some of the
political leaders. The Franco-Prussian
war was another specific problem for Romania and in
this perspective, the country “had not ceased to openly manifest its sympathy for France and
had shown an open hostility to anything that is German” (Bălăceanu, 2002, p. 165).
Soon things escalated and some political actors, with certain frustrations, placed
in action an unpleasant episode for Charles I. Consequently, a relevant event of that period
was the so-called “Ploiești revolution” on 8/20 August 1870, organized with the only purpose
to overturn the foreign prince; the event in the end remained in history as a breakdown
project. The members of this revolution were detained, but had to be soon released due to
society pressure. Nevertheless, a trend against the prince existed (Bacalbașa, 2014) and had
visible consequences in the political life, at least on short term.
Following the defeat of the France Empire, the German colony from Bucharest
organized a banquet at Slătineanu Hall (Bacalbașa, 2014), on the occasion of the German
victory and of the German emperor’s birthday (22 March 1871). During the feast, young
students instigated by the radical liberals (the prince, for more than two years,
refused to place
them in power) threw several stones, smashing windows and creating a state of panic, but the
order was established soon (Lindenberg, 2006).
Again, is detected a new fracture of the
prince’s image, both on domestic and external level.
In addition, the Romanian society was
Francophone and was very embittered by the result of the Franco-Prussian war. Charles I,
having German nationality, had to assume a cautious attitude in that period.
Charles I’s situation was delicate for two reasons: first was his incapacity to
impose a powerful government to ensure political stability, and second was his image in the
Romanian society. The situation became gradually more complicated, not favoring the prince.
In these tense conditions, which had internal, but mostly external implications, Charles I
resorted to the
abdication strategy (Damean, 2000), in order to attract the attention of the
political class and to ring an alarm bell.
Fortunately, this time the political pragmatism won and a new government, a
conservative one, was formed, which reunited all the conservative groups (March 1871). In
this regard, Charles I had a powerful speech at the Deputy Assembly, on June 1/13 1871:
“These are moments of grief in the most abiding hearts. To see how a minority, using liberty
to produce disorder and taking advantage of the good faith and the careless of the peaceful
majority of the country, was trying to hinder the work I have done from the first moment I
came to the throne, I thought that my intentions were misunderstood and, because I didn’t
wish to impose myself on the country, I thought, for a moment, to surrender the place”
(Giurescu, 1939, p. 122).
Hereinafter, the prince, who had endured a series of unrighteous offenses during
1870-1871, declared that the progress meant political stability: “because it is the time,
gentlemen, after all these failed attempts, to answer to the most important desire of the
country, which is stability; on a land with no consistency and always flustered nothing solid
can be build” (Giurescu, 1939, p. 123).