A German monarch in the presidency

I just had a thought, what if sometime after the abdication of the Kaiser and the establishment of the Weimar Republic, a member of the German Royal family ran for president, or possibly won? Which member of the royal family might have run, or would have had a chance? What would have to happen for this to succede?
 
Wouldn't happen: Wilhelm II. was still the boss of the family, and he wouldn't allow it.
On the other hand, the German people were fed up with the Hohenzollern, so hardly anybody would vote for such a candidate.
 

Thande

Donor
Wouldn't happen with the Hohenzollerns, but how about someone from one of the royal families of the minor states in the Second Reich?
 
WI Ludwig II of Bavaria lives long enough to pull it off? Would we see the transformation of the Weimar Republic into the Fairy-tale Republic?
 
Actually Crown Prince Wilhelm III tried to convince his father to allow him to run for President of Germany but as mentioned above the former Kaiser would not allow it. If one was to try to get another amily to run for the office and possibly restore the Monarch the canidate would likely by Crown Prince Ruphardt of Bavaria. He was very popular with all those that had served under his command in the Army and he was very popular in Bavaria as well as in other parts of Bavaria.
 

Susano

Banned
Wouldn't happen: Wilhelm II. was still the boss of the family, and he wouldn't allow it.
True to a degree: His family recogniced him as their head. But OTOH, he has no legal means to enforce anything, so it would simply take a personality choice of one Hohenzollern.

On the other hand, the German people were fed up with the Hohenzollern, so hardly anybody would vote for such a candidate.
That is indeed a much larger problem.

As for who:
Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, who actually was the official pretender once his older brother abidcated from this position after having married a commoner (sparking an inheritance argument that goes on to the present day, but thats another story). And Louis Ferdinand was not bad, really. If there had been a constiutional monarcy established in Germany I think he wouldve made a good monarch. However, there is and was just no reason to reestablish a moarchy.
 
An Hohenzollern (most likely Wilhelm III) could have served as an integrative figure for the right instead of / as a sucessor to Hindenburg (Maybe in case of a Papen or Schleicher dictatorship?).
A Hohenzollern could have attracted people because of the connection to the good old days of the Second Empire and to Prussias glorious military past he symbolized. And as he was not affiliated with a specific party a Hohnezollern could have been a good compromise candidate.
But not even the right would have wanted to give them any real power.

As mentioned Wilhelm III was actually discussed as a candidate but his father forbade it. (German wikipedia has some details).

An member of another former ruling house is less likely as they did not poses the same symbolic value. They would have to make an actual politcal career of their own (thereby ironically anoying the true royalists).
 

Thande

Donor
Well, not quite: Habsburg sure would :D

Having a Hapsburg be president of nearly all the German-speaking lands EXCEPT Austria would be a tad ironic.

Problem is, Czechoslovakia and Hungary would probably start running around like their pants were on fire at the mere mention of such a thing.
 
Well, not quite: Habsburg sure would :D

The Habsburgs were still popular in their former core territories even more than the Hohenzollerns (have you read Joseph Roth? very good stuff) most likely because they showed more dignity during the last years of their rule and the contrast betwen the present and the good old times was even more striking there.

Karl almost returned to power in Hungary and Austria bothered to have special laws against the Habsburgs.

But in Germany? The first Empire was ancient history even back then and Germany had still a prussian-protestant touch.
 
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