The news came as a thunderbolt to the German public,
already depressed by the Allied victories in France and Palestine. There was a panic on the Berlin Stock Exchange. The Foreign Secretary, Admiral von Hintze, tried to reassure the Reichstag on Friday week by saying that M. Malinoff had interpreted the military reverses too unfavourably, that his hasty action might not be confirmed by the Bulgarian Parliament, and that in any case Germany and Austria had sent strong forces to Macedonia which would be "absolutely adequate to restore the military situation." But Bulgaria was no longer influenced by Berlin's promises. The political agitation in Germany increased. On Monday the German Chancellor, Count von Nettling, resigned office. The Emperor, in accepting his resignation, expressed a "desire that the German people shall co-operate more effectively than hitherto in deciding the fate of the Fatherland." "it is therefore my will," he added, "that men who are sustained by the people's trust shall in a wide extent co-operate in the rights and duties of government." This curious admission that his Ministers have not been "men who are sustained by the people's trust" may mean much or little, according to the Emperor's whim and the advice of his faithful Junkers.
