WI: Maximilian Stayed in Austria

Delta Force

Banned
What if Maximilian had decided to stay in Austria instead of becoming Emperor of Mexico? It seems unlikely he would be able to succeed his brother Kaiser Franz Joseph I, or at least not reign for very long if he did, but perhaps he would have been able to influence policy in the Austrian (barring larger butterflies, later Austro-Hungarian) Empire? Maximilian was interested in naval matters and exploration and even served as the head of the Austro-Hungarian Navy for several years during which time he established the naval bases at Pola and Trieste and arranged the Novara Expedition. He also implemented many reforms as Emperor of Mexico.
 
What if Maximilian had decided to stay in Austria instead of becoming Emperor of Mexico? It seems unlikely he would be able to succeed his brother Kaiser Franz Joseph I, or at least not reign for very long if he did, but perhaps he would have been able to influence policy in the Austrian (barring larger butterflies, later Austro-Hungarian) Empire? Maximilian was interested in naval matters and exploration and even served as the head of the Austro-Hungarian Navy for several years during which time he established the naval bases at Pola and Trieste and arranged the Novara Expedition. He also implemented many reforms as Emperor of Mexico.

He was relatively liberal, although Empress Charlotte was a restraining influence on him.
Honestly, I think that the Habsburg brothers had mismatched partners - Charlotte would have been a fairly fitting consort to Franz Joseph, and Elisabeth famously got along very well with her brother in law.
However, FJ and Max didn't go along very well. I suspect that Max's influence on Austrian policy would have been fairly limited. He might have improved things somehow - making the Italians in Trento and Trieste more loyal, possibly - but I can't see a way for him to become a determing factor, barring a sudden FJ's death. As an Emperor or Regent, Max would have struggled with the same problems his brother faced IOTL, and probably used simlar solutions - I don't see this as a big change at a fisrt glance.
 
Wasn't the reason he took the Mexican throne because he had just lost his role of Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia when the former was lost to Sardinia/Italy? He was at a loose end, and wasn't sure he could see much a role for him in Austria in the future.

Of course we've all been there, when the future was unutterably bleak and there was nothing to look forward to, but over time we found something to make it seem worthwhile again, so you never know...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
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