Charles was the head of the Austrian
House of Habsburg after the death of his grandfather Maximilian, but he was born in the
Habsburg Netherlands, had grown up speaking
French and
Dutch, was in Spain at the time of the election, and had not yet been to Germany or learned
German. Thus, there was a risk that he could be felt to be as much of a foreigner as Francis. However, Charles advised the princes against electing a foreign king and declared himself a
"German by blood and stock". Therefore, he launched a relentless propaganda campaign in which he shifted the narrative to claim his heritage as the head of a German dynasty and as the grandson of Maximilian (previous Holy Roman Emperor) and presented Francis as nothing more than a 'foreign adventurer', fostering fears of foreign interference in German affairs. Consequentially, he obtained 'German sympathies', making his election more attractive. Another factor in favour of Charles was that he, as the ruler of sparse states in the Low Countries, Spain, and Austria, was less likely to impose his personal ambitions over German princes as he would also be pre-occupied on his other affairs. In contingency with this notion, Charles promised to guarantee 'German liberties'. At the same time, the threat of military force from the
Swabian League, formed in 1488 and sympathetic towards Charles's Habsburg background, also influenced the result. In addition, Charles had deeper pockets. Francis had bought the elector of Trier; up for grabs were the electors of Mainz, Brandenburg, and the Palatinate. Although full details of the election were never revealed, it is possible that the electors sought a way out of their dilemma by electing Frederick III of Saxony as emperor, but that he turned them down. All these factors made Charles's election much more attractive than his competition. In the end, Charles was elected unanimously. == Aftermath ==