It was the end of the _new era_.
It was doubtful whether the new Ministers would have the skill and resolution to meet the crisis; they still were without a leader; Prince von Hohenlohe, a member of the Protestant branch of the family to which the present Chancellor of the Empire belongs, was appointed provisional President.

The opinions of the country was clear enough; the elections resulted in the complete defeat not only of the Conservatives but of the moderate Liberals; not a single one of the Ministers was returned.

There was, therefore, no doubt that the King would either have to give in on the question of the army or to govern against the will of the majority of the Chamber.

The struggle was no longer confined to the question of the army; it was a formal conflict for power between the House and the Crown.

The attempt to introduce a Parliamentary government which had been thwarted ten years before was now revived.