Michel Missoffe, through this book on Metternich, portrays him as a statesman and reveals an intimate Metternich, a diplomat, a deeply religious politician, concerned with preserving peace.
He is Austria’s foreign minister while Napoleon is forging his empire. Austria has been in the enemy camp since the revolution, and England is stoking the embers of coalitions against Napoleon. Metternich and Talleyrand are masters of diplomacy. We regret that these two men could not come to an understanding, as the history of Europe would have been changed.
Metternich is a convinced European. He was right a century and a half too early, and Europe is moving towards nationalism: Italian and German unification, both at the expense of Austria.
France revolts, overthrows Charles X who understood nothing of the sense of history, Louis Philippe blinded by his bourgeois king style and equally failing to understand political and social evolution, then Napoleon III vainly trying to fill his uncle’s shoes, promoting Italian unity by weakening Austria and indirectly aiding Bismarck in realizing the great Reich.
Metternich understood all this well. The diplomat wanted to create Europe through treaties and certainly not by the sword.
We experienced the Europe of nationalities with the consequence of three wars between European nations. Contrary to the author’s conclusions (but his book is from 1959, which may excuse his analytical error), Metternich was not mistaken; he was right, but too early, a century and a half too early.
This is a book that must be read. We have the advantage of historical hindsight, allowing us to better understand Metternich.
Thierry Jan
