secretly debating candidacies for the Moldavian throne. Grigore Sturdza's support by the great boyar families was seen as an obstacle by the Nationals, who regarded him as a "Phanariote"; while the group was adamant that they would never support Sturdza, they remained for a while divided between putting up Alecsandri and Costache Negri as their rival candidates. Arriving into the country dressed as a Pasha, Sturdza Jr presented himself as an alternative to both his father's "retrograde party" and the "ultra-radical democracy" of National activists. His political reference, by that moment, was Bonapartism, with Sturdza appearing as a Moldavian version of Napoleon III; he promised unification with Wallachia, but only within the very loose norms stipulated under the Treaty of Paris. In April 1858, "Muklis" finally announced his candidacy for the Moldavian throne in the election of December. There were initially eight candidates, including himself and his father; Grigore was entered into the race by Anastasie Panu, who was serving as one of the three Caimacams who had taken over from Vogoride. In November, the Journal de Constantinople retrospectively noted: "Mouhlis-Pacha (Prince Grégoire Stourdza), one of the more fidgety candidates, who thought that he had quite a few chances, has lost them all following the arrival of his father". A retrospective note in Louis Debrauz's Mémorial Diplomatique suggests that Sturdza Jr had left Moldavians with "too many irritating and upsetting memories". As part of his effort to persuade the public, the Beizadea organized a team of electoral agents from his Polish retinue, who also maintained a connection between him and Czajkowski. The Beizadea was intent on obtaining recognition by the Second French Empire. In September 1858, while presenting his resignation from the Ottoman army, he addressed Napoleon a letter which expressed commitment to unifying the Principalities into a French-allied polity; he also co-ordinated his efforts with Wallachia's outgoing Caimacam, Alexandru II Ghica, whom he met in the border town of Focșani. Sturdza Jr also recruited the Frenchman Jean Alexandre Vaillant, who put out a Sturdzist brochure that was read with interest by the French Foreign Minister, Alexandre Colonna-Walewski. As noted in various diplomatic records, the Beizadea enjoyed discreet backing by the French Consulate in Iași. More senior affiliates included C. Sion, who was primarily noted for his anti-union writings, supporting "the rights of Moldavia as a state in its own right." Additional backing came from the newspaper Constituționariul, which was