ABSTRACT
Bismarck entered the year of the three emperors, 1888, with his dominance at home and abroad outwardly undiminished, but many were wondering if he was merely clinging on to power for its own sake. Among the political elite doubts and intrigues were rampant, labyrinthine and poisonous. Holstein, the influential counsellor in the foreign office, had been a close friend of the Bismarck family, had tried to act as an intermediary between the chancellor and the crown princess, but was now alienated, for personal and political reasons. Collaboration with Herbert, the chancellor’s son, was very difficult. He treated his subordinates badly, drank too much and owed his rapid promotion to his father. Waldersee, who succeeded Moltke as chief of staff in 1888, was an anti-Bismarck frondeur. He had links with Stoecker and there was a widely noticed meeting at his house in November 1887, to support Stoecker’s Berlin mission, which was attended by prominent Conservatives and by Prince William, the future kaiser, and his wife.
