Plus you just know a lot of nobles both Austrian and Prussian would have formed parties against each other and would have schemed to get her on their side.
This is why I think he's in over his head. He doesn't have the same opportunity to isolate and entrench as he did as sole uncontested ruler in Prussia, following in his father's footsteps as sole uncontested ruler.
One could wonder how adaptable Fritz was, i.e. whether he took the isolate-and-entrench approach because it was easily available to him, and whether he would have been capable of developing a different strategy in a different context like Vienna. But considering how little he managed to back down even in the face of someone having absolute power over him (like, he just barely played along to the point where FW *knew* and was constantly complaining that the moment his back was turned, Fritz was getting up to whatever he wanted--Fritz was not capable of or willing to fool anyone, at any time in his life I can think of; the closest he could come was promising something and blatantly and openly breaking his word as soon as it was convenient to do so, which is worlds away from manipulative skills), I kind of feel like isolate-and-entrench was Fritz's innate strategy, and it was amplified by one million by decades of chronic trauma*, and his chances of developing a different strategy in his twenties were slim.
Interpersonal skills were what would have been needed at Vienna, and Fritz was always short on those. I've seen biographers point out that if he'd been willing to play along more often instead of kicking out foreign envoys and refusing to meet with people, he could have been a much greater, more effective, and more famous ruler. To which my reaction is, "Me too. My career would be way more successful if I were willing to interact with people more. I've seen it done by a friend/former boss who's almost exactly like me except for being willing to fake extraversion for the sake of good leadership. And to me and Fritz, it's just not worth it." Take what you want and pay for it.
* Whatever strategy people develop in the face of trauma is the one that they usually carry for life, regardless of how ineffective it is in their post-trauma life, because their limbic systems equate that strategy with survival. Much of effective PTSD therapy is built around helping people develop new strategies for less traumatic environments.
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Re: Nomination coordination redux
Date: 2019-10-01 08:12 pm (UTC)This is why I think he's in over his head. He doesn't have the same opportunity to isolate and entrench as he did as sole uncontested ruler in Prussia, following in his father's footsteps as sole uncontested ruler.
One could wonder how adaptable Fritz was, i.e. whether he took the isolate-and-entrench approach because it was easily available to him, and whether he would have been capable of developing a different strategy in a different context like Vienna. But considering how little he managed to back down even in the face of someone having absolute power over him (like, he just barely played along to the point where FW *knew* and was constantly complaining that the moment his back was turned, Fritz was getting up to whatever he wanted--Fritz was not capable of or willing to fool anyone, at any time in his life I can think of; the closest he could come was promising something and blatantly and openly breaking his word as soon as it was convenient to do so, which is worlds away from manipulative skills), I kind of feel like isolate-and-entrench was Fritz's innate strategy, and it was amplified by one million by decades of chronic trauma*, and his chances of developing a different strategy in his twenties were slim.
Interpersonal skills were what would have been needed at Vienna, and Fritz was always short on those. I've seen biographers point out that if he'd been willing to play along more often instead of kicking out foreign envoys and refusing to meet with people, he could have been a much greater, more effective, and more famous ruler. To which my reaction is, "Me too. My career would be way more successful if I were willing to interact with people more. I've seen it done by a friend/former boss who's almost exactly like me except for being willing to fake extraversion for the sake of good leadership. And to me and Fritz, it's just not worth it." Take what you want and pay for it.
* Whatever strategy people develop in the face of trauma is the one that they usually carry for life, regardless of how ineffective it is in their post-trauma life, because their limbic systems equate that strategy with survival. Much of effective PTSD therapy is built around helping people develop new strategies for less traumatic environments.