Based on a post I made here.
Neither Austria nor Prussia would be too pleased to see the other at the head of the new German Empire proposed by the Frankfurt Assembly but what if they decided to make a show of conceding to the 'will of the people' (not that either King or Emperor cares much about such things).
In this scenario, the borders of the new empire match those of the old German Confederation so significant areas of both Prussia and Austria are unencumbered by that pesky liberal constitution (and of course, as with the OTL Prussian three-class voting system, member states need not be as liberal as the Empire as a whole). In order to ensure that the new imperial government is never in a position to actually impose anything, the two key states agree on a figurehead who they believe they can control.
The lucky fellow is a prince from one of the Swabian Hohenzollern lines. As the ruler of a tiny principality, he has no powerbase of his own. Though he shares the name of the Prussian ruling family, like the Hapsburgs he is a Catholic from the south. Voila, a unified Germany under a liberal constitution.
Alright then, slings and arrows please.
Neither Austria nor Prussia would be too pleased to see the other at the head of the new German Empire proposed by the Frankfurt Assembly but what if they decided to make a show of conceding to the 'will of the people' (not that either King or Emperor cares much about such things).
In this scenario, the borders of the new empire match those of the old German Confederation so significant areas of both Prussia and Austria are unencumbered by that pesky liberal constitution (and of course, as with the OTL Prussian three-class voting system, member states need not be as liberal as the Empire as a whole). In order to ensure that the new imperial government is never in a position to actually impose anything, the two key states agree on a figurehead who they believe they can control.
The lucky fellow is a prince from one of the Swabian Hohenzollern lines. As the ruler of a tiny principality, he has no powerbase of his own. Though he shares the name of the Prussian ruling family, like the Hapsburgs he is a Catholic from the south. Voila, a unified Germany under a liberal constitution.
Alright then, slings and arrows please.
