Austrian chancellor Klemens von Metternich is able…
1828 CE to 1839 CE
Even Britain returns to close cooperation with the other powers to block French interests in Egypt.
Nevertheless, Metternich fails to respond effectively to Prussia's formation of a German customs union in 1834.
The customs union excludes Austria and promotes the economic integration of the other German states, thus facilitating German political unification under Prussian leadership later in the century.
Despite Metternich's high profile, it is the emperor's conservative outlook and hostility toward the values and ideas of the French Revolution that sets the parameters for Austrian policy.
This is especially true of domestic policy, which Franz I retains under his direct personal control until his death in 1835.
The composition of the state council that Franz selects to rule in the name of his mentally incompetent son Ferdinand I will ensure the continuance of his policies until revolution shakes the foundations of Habsburg rule in 1848.