Can we be surprised that as the years went on Bismarck looked with some concern on the result of the struggle he had brought about?
He attempted to conceal the failure: "The result will be," he said, "that we shall have two great parties--one which supports and maintains the State, and another which attacks it.

The former will be the great majority and it will be formed in the school of conflict." These words are the strongest condemnation of his policy.

It could not be wise for any statesman to arrange that party conflict should take the form of loyalty and disloyalty to the Empire.
There can be little doubt that his sense of failure helped to bring about a feeling of enmity towards the National Liberals.

Suddenly in the spring of 1877 he sent in his resignation.

There were, however, other reasons for doing this.