Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 398: What do you think of Italy?

William IV talked to "European Times" and said: As for what the Netherlands may lose and gain?

Frankly speaking, the Netherlands may have lost more diplomatic leverage, and Italy's position, obviously from the position of a member of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, is slightly more neutral, which would be helpful for the Netherlands and Italy to constrain France's position in the north and south.Obviously, with the ice-breaking trip of Emmanuel II to France, a gap has appeared. To this end, the Netherlands needs to make some adjustments. As for how to adjust, that is the scope of the Dutch diplomatic department.

As for the Dutch income?Everything has two sides. The Netherlands actually benefited from Italy's visit to the French Empire. Why, because many people can find that as the tension in the English Channel decreases, the Netherlands in the north will avoid choosing sides. You know These are the two most powerful countries in Europe. Although the Netherlands and the French Empire have different opinions in the Far East, it does not prevent the two countries from cooperating on European issues. As everyone knows, the Netherlands and the French Empire have different opinions on the Belgian issue. On the other hand, the positions are convergent.

"European Times": What do you think of Italy?

Italy is a rising country. Rising and conservative countries have had disputes over territory and spheres of influence since ancient times. Just like Italy and the Austrian Empire in the past, although the two countries almost belonged to the League, they hated each other and ended up fighting each other because of Venice. Problems and the rising determination of Emmanuel II made it unsustainable for the Austrian Empire to maintain the status quo between the two countries.

In the end, the two countries were supported by the French Empire, which led to a short war. In the end, Italy and the French Empire won, and Austria was forced to become Venice and other places as Italian territory.Since then, Austria has lost its hegemony in the central Mediterranean.

Of course, there were also intermittent border conflicts later, but on the border between Italy and Austria, the actual conflicts still accounted for only a very small part.

However, now that Austria and Austria have been defeated by Prussia, the former Austrian Empire has become the current Austria-Hungary Empire. It seems that the two countries have chosen peace in the border dispute, which is rare.

After some conflicts, everyone now understands where their respective lines of control are and will not cross their own lines of control. I think this is a controllable situation until there is no ultimate solution to this problem.As long as the conflict does not worsen and everyone knows where the line of control is, it will be fine.

In the past, the border line may not be very clear, and soldiers on the border between the two countries would inevitably be confused. This is understandable. Of course, if Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers take the initiative to provoke, that is a problem that they need to control.

"European Times": What kind of person do you think King Emmanuel II of Italy is?

King Emmanuel II of Italy was also a strong political man. He also wanted to play the role of Napoleon III or Alexander II. However, sometimes, he was more like King William I of Prussia, restrained, low-key but No one takes it lightly.

Under his banner, there were European diplomatic strategists like Cavour, and ministers of revival like Marco Minghetti and Lamarmora. It was like God's help that Italy's development was on the right track.

He and William I actually had a close connection. The relationship between Prussia and Italy is very special, which we may talk about later.I think the mutual proximity of the Italian and French empires is very, very important to the problems of the entire Europe.The British talk about the power struggle in the Mediterranean, but we don't say that. There is no fundamental conflict between Italy and the French Empire.

Britain's geopolitical strategy is to contain any country on the European continent that may challenge the maritime hegemony of the British Empire. Its strategy is offshore balance. Offshore balance means that although it is not on the European continent, it wants to destroy the relationship between these countries on the European continent. Relations, especially the relations between big powers, alienated them, especially the French Empire, the biggest threat to the British frontier, and its neighborly relations with other European countries.

Italy also has very far-sighted strategists. The late Prime Minister Cavour (died in 1861 as prime minister, Emmanuel II's most respected minister) is the most famous among them. He believed that the French Empire stood in the way of Italy. In fact, Italy helped them attract a lot of firepower from the British Empire. If the French Empire was suppressed by the British Empire, then there would be no one in front of Italy to block it, and it would have to accept all the firepower launched by the British Empire. That would be a big deal for Italy. A huge shock.

Now that the French Empire is blocking the front, Italy can quietly develop its economy, which he thinks is pretty good.

I think this concept has strategic foresight. In fact, the British Empire does not care whether you are a Protestant or Catholic country. They do not care whether you are historically friendly to the British Empire, whether it is the Tsarist Russian Empire in the Baltic Sea, the Middle East and the Far East, or the French Empire. In the Mediterranean and the English Channel, or Prussia in the North Atlantic, as long as it challenges its maritime hegemony, it must eliminate the threat.

So on this issue, I think the Netherlands and Italy are both resurgent countries, and both sides have a common position. I make a bold judgment. I think the relationship between the Netherlands and Italy can continue to support each other with a comprehensive strategy. , despite the easing of relations between the French Empire and Italy.

"European Times": Well, just now we saw that this visit, as you just mentioned, coincides with the triangular relationship between Italy, France and Britain, and Italy seems to be playing the role of lubricant.

Especially when the relationship between Britain and France was not good, it coincided with the French Empire's invasion of the Kingdom of Siam in the Far East, which led to poor relations between France and neighboring countries. We noticed that the French Empire's invasion of the Kingdom of Siam was not popular in Europe. .

In fact, Italy and the Netherlands criticized the French Empire's request that the two countries not be unfriendly to the French Empire. However, both countries dismissed this and showed a certain degree of agreement, such as It is said that both countries have imposed economic sanctions on the French Empire within the framework of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. How do you interpret the similar performances of the Netherlands and Italy?Is this a coincidence?

William IV: This is definitely not a coincidence. The National Hague Tribunal Organization has some consensus of interests. According to my own observation, in fact, the attitudes of Spain, Portugal and even Switzerland and Belgium on this issue are highly consistent and consistent with those of the Netherlands and Italy. It is not a coincidence that these neighboring countries all seem to have adopted a common position under a sense of crisis towards the French Empire's practices.

This is one, and the other is that Italy has a very special relationship with the French Empire. More than 40% of Italy’s military equipment imports come from the French Empire. Among the main source countries of Italy’s arms trade, the first is the French Empire, and the second is the British Empire. , and third is the Netherlands.

(End of this chapter)