ABSTRACT
Disraeli's aim was the accumulation of national prestige. Disraeli in his heart thought that even ramshackle Ottoman Empire or a dishevelled Austria-Hungary deserved sympathy and perhaps even support; the only country in which nationalism deserved respect was of course his own. Disraeli's first years as Prime Minister were hampered by his own choice of Foreign Secretary; 15th Earl of Derby had more in common with the cautious and specific diplomacy of Peel and Aberdeen than with impatient instincts of his own Prime Minister. Disraeli admired the old man's spirit and waited for the day when Palmerston would die and clear the way for himself as a Conservative advocate of strong measures combined with the willingness to tweak the noses of pretentious autocrats on the Continent. For reasons of party politics, Disraeli was from time to time strongly critical of Palmerston, over Arrow War against China or his choice of Don Pacifico, seedy Greek merchant, for display of Britain's naval strength.
