finally brought to an end by the "monstrous coalition" counter-coup of February 1866. Over the following months of unrest, Romania (as the Principalities were now formally known) selected Carol of Hohenzollern, a Prussian subject, as their new Domnitor. His predecessor's abdication created the terrain for active separatism, which was promoted by Russia's agents in Moldavia. An April report in the Transylvanian press had it that "prince Gregoriu Sturza, under the condition of a foreign prince, has renounced his candidacy, but under other circumstances he will use any means to see himself on the throne." As noted by Radu Rosetti, some of the boyardom dreamed of restoring independence, "but they were mostly old men, with no energy left for accomplishing dreams of youth. The only one who still had the required energy and willpower, Beizadea Grigore Sturdza, never even made a move." In March 1866, the Beizadea, having been made a Colonel in the Romanian military, was also serving as the Prefect of Iași County. To the "Reds", he was primarily known as an abuser of the office. In May, this job confronted Sturdza with the Iași separatist riots, which doubled as outbreaks of antisemitic violence; restoring order by military force, he issued a proclamation extending his personal guarantee of safety to the Jewish locals. "White" politico Overall, the Beizadea remained sympathetic toward the moderate separatists. In July 1867, he was at Roman, where he signed up to a platform which called for the establishment of a regional Moldavian caucus that would defy "Red" centralism. The document was also backed by Nicu Ceaur-Aslan and Nicolae Iamandi (both of the Free and Independent Faction); other signatories included Grigore Balș, Panait Balș, Grigore Vârnav, and Colonel Pavlov. Their initiative was rejected by the "Red" Prime Minister, Constantin A. Crețulescu, who argued that regional caucuses were not permitted under the 1866 Constitution. That same month, Gazetta de Iașĭ published the Beizadeas response to Crețulescu, who had threatened to break up the regionalist rally by force. In it, Sturdza informed the "Reds" that liberal "anarchy" would be swept away by the "great party of Order and Stability"; he also called for a protest gathering to be held in August. In October, following separatist Teodor Boldur-Lățescu's scuffle with two Wallachian officers, Sturdza signed his name to protests addressed to Carol. Although reaffirming their loyalism, Sturdza and the other signatories demanded that Boldur-Lățescu be tried by an