Although the Austrian Empire now possessed the rich lands of Central America and California, its center remained Vienna.
Therefore, opening the Suez Canal was a necessary choice for Franz. After all, whichever side held greater influence was the mother country.
Franz did intend to bring about a shift in the world's economic center, but what he wanted was for that center to return to Europe—more precisely, to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Thus, the declining importance of the Suez Canal was actually a good thing for the Austrian Empire. After all, the struggle for control of the canal would not be so fierce.
With the opening of the Suez Canal, the status of Britain's African colonies would decline further.
Then Franz could proceed to the next step. After all, he knew perfectly well that Africa's potential went far beyond this.
If the Austrian Empire wanted absolute power, the resources of the African continent were indispensable.
In fact, Franz had long since planted plenty of nails, merely waiting for the British to step on them.
According to the original history, it would have taken the British decades at the earliest to step on those nails. But Franz's actions would force them to move ahead of schedule, greatly increasing the odds that they would tread on them.
Franz was not as warlike as the world believed. Most of the time, he preferred to solve problems through relatively peaceful means.
The people of the Austrian Empire did not really understand the government's and the Emperor's actions, since everyone believed war was bound to be the inevitable outcome.
Under the propaganda of those social elites, everyone believed that the Austrian Empire would inevitably launch a war; it was merely waiting for the right moment.
At Vienna's recruitment offices, long lines formed every day.