The
eminence grise that springs to mind
Is
Richelieu, astute even at prayer,
But
the Swedes boasted a contemporary
Who
was, arguably, even greyer.
Axel
Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre
(Whatever
you do, don’t call him Gussy)
Was,
when it came to politics,
Elaborate
I’d say rather than fussy.
And
in this regard he presided
Over
Sweden’s victorious campaign
To
bugger the burghers of Germany
And
reduce the power of Spain.
Imagine
what would have happened
When
King Gustavus died
If
God hadn’t had the wily
Oxenstierna
on His side.
Professor
Hugh Trevor-Roper
Is
adamant about one thing:
The
whiff of revolution
Threatened
every Queen and King
In
seventeenth-century Europe,
Where
we set our tale:
The
execution of Charles in England
Was
but a preliminary nail
In
feudalism’s coffin.
Thus
threatened with the rise
Of
the va-nu-pieds, Oxenstierna
Saved
the throne with compromise.
Some
say his legendary deftness
Was
virtually unique,
Such
that Sweden remains a kingdom
Even
as we speak,
Though
he felt that Queen Christina,
In
spite of her fine regalia,
Might
have made gains less exiguous
From
the treaty of Westphalia,
Had
she listened to him more carefully,
Like
guitarists heed Bert Weedon,
But
she never – and that’s why things are
The
way they are in Sweden.
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