Skallagrim
Banned
As far as the Austro-German relation is concerned, Rudolf was certainly not inclined towards any warm feelings for Germany. This doesn't mean that he'd want a war with Germany, but he was convinced that Austria was the better of the two. In matters as varied as historiography and economics, he felt that Vienna and Berlin were wholly alien to each other. Observe that the economist Carl Menger (founder of the Austrian School of Economics) was his tutor, and shared many of his (classical) liberal ideas. Rudolf was influenced by Menger to such an extent that in the Methodenstreit, he was bound to side with 'his own' Austrians against the German ideas.
It would be interesting to see that develop. Everyone is going on about war and military potential, but I'm more interested in the possibility of Austria presenting itself as an alternative to the "German way of doing things". You note that attitude in the OTL writings of Austrian economists (such as Mises): that there was a distinctly "Austrian" competitor to the "German" vision of what Europe should be. In OTL, two world wars totally killed all remnants of the old, imperial Austria that embodied this alternative. But in an ATL, we might get a different outcome. Austria wasn't going to be a military power to match Germany, for sure. But old Austria could claim to be the true heart of Europe. And in that capacity, it might continue to embody an alternative vision for Europe's future-- one at odds with the German idea.
It would be interesting to see that develop. Everyone is going on about war and military potential, but I'm more interested in the possibility of Austria presenting itself as an alternative to the "German way of doing things". You note that attitude in the OTL writings of Austrian economists (such as Mises): that there was a distinctly "Austrian" competitor to the "German" vision of what Europe should be. In OTL, two world wars totally killed all remnants of the old, imperial Austria that embodied this alternative. But in an ATL, we might get a different outcome. Austria wasn't going to be a military power to match Germany, for sure. But old Austria could claim to be the true heart of Europe. And in that capacity, it might continue to embody an alternative vision for Europe's future-- one at odds with the German idea.