"The position of Prussia in Germany will be determined not by its liberalism but by its power. Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden may indulge in liberalism, but no one will assign to them Prussia's role. Prussia must concentrate and maintain its power for the favourable moment, which has already come and gone several times. Since the Treaty of Vienna, our frontiers have not been suited to a healthy body politic. The great questions of the time will not be resolved by speeches and majority decisions — that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849 — but by iron and blood."

Otto von Bismarck, speech to the Prussian Budget Committee, 30 September 1862. Bismarck had been appointed Minister-President of Prussia by King Wilhelm I three weeks earlier, during a constitutional crisis over the military budget.