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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat Happens When a Bad-Tempered, Distractible Doofus Runs an Empire?
What Happens When a Bad-Tempered, Distractible Doofus Runs an Empire?
NEW YORKER
By Miranda Carter June 6, 2018
"One of the few things that Kaiser Wilhelm II, who ruled Germany from 1888 to 1918, had a talent for was causing outrage. A particular specialty was insulting other monarchs. He called the diminutive King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy the dwarf in front of the kings own entourage. He called Prince (later Tsar) Ferdinand, of Bulgaria, Fernando naso, on account of his beaky nose, and spread rumors that he was a hermaphrodite. Since Wilhelm was notably indiscreet, people always knew what he was saying behind their backs. Ferdinand had his revenge. After a visit to Germany, in 1909, during which the Kaiser slapped him on the bottom in public and then refused to apologize, Ferdinand awarded a valuable arms contract that had been promised to the Germans to a French company instead."
SNIP
There is only one person who is master in this empire and I am not going to tolerate any other, Wilhelm liked to say, even though Germany had a democratic assembly and political parties. (Im the only one that matters, Trump has said.)
SNIP
"The Kaiser was susceptible but never truly controllable. He asserted his authority unpredictably, as if to prove he was still in charge, staging rogue interventions into his own advisers policies and sacking ministers without warning. You cannot have the faintest idea what I have prevented, his most obsequious aide, Bernhard von Bülow, complained to a friend, and how much of my time I must devote to restoring order where our All Highest Master has created chaos.
SNIP
"The Kaiser wasnt singly responsible for the First World War, but his actions and choices helped to bring it on. If international conflict is around the corner, it would seem that you really dont want a narcissist in control of a global power. .....Wilhelms touchiness, his unpredictability, his need to be acknowledged: these things struck a chord with elements in Germany, which was in a kind of adolescent spasmquick to perceive slights, excited by the idea of flexing its muscles, filled with a sense of entitlement. At the same time, Wilhelms posturing raised tensions in Europe. His clumsy personal diplomacy created suspicion. His alliance with the vitriolic right and his slavish admiration for the Army inched the country closer and closer to war. Once the war was actually upon him, the government and military effectively swept the Kaiser aside. And the gravest damage occurred only after Wilhelm abdicated, in November of 1918."
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/what-happens-when-a-bad-tempered-distractible-doofus-runs-an-empire
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What Happens When a Bad-Tempered, Distractible Doofus Runs an Empire? (Original Post)
pangaia
Jun 2018
OP
I was re-reading Bourdain's "Read This Before Eating" when I saw this. How did you manage to...
marble falls
Jun 2018
#1
I ended up on Amazon and ordered Kitchen Confidential, Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London..
marble falls
Jun 2018
#3
marble falls
(57,106 posts)1. I was re-reading Bourdain's "Read This Before Eating" when I saw this. How did you manage to...
cut it down? There was just too much good stuff in this article!
pangaia
(24,324 posts)2. Wasn't easy.
ALSO was reading Bourdain's old piece.. Great minds, eh...
marble falls
(57,106 posts)3. I ended up on Amazon and ordered Kitchen Confidential, Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London..
and Homage to Catalonia. All used, of course.
Keep up the good fight!
empedocles
(15,751 posts)4. Thank you
Will show it to my historian wife. Historical gossip, often fits current times, and is interesting like right here with Kaiser trump. I like Diogenes, [did u hear what Diogenes said about . . .? ]