Despite the fact that the Six Articles Treaty merely exposed the tip of the iceberg, the London Government was already losing sleep. Now, Prime Minister John Russell developed a headache just by looking at the map of the Mediterranean, where French troops had landed on Sicily, under the pretense of helping to suppress a rebellion.
With Austria suddenly letting go, was there anyone left who could limit French expansion in the Italian Area?
The answer was brutally simple: no.
The Italian Area had always been a focal point of competition between France and Austria; however, now that they had chosen to compromise, the natural conflict between them ceased to exist.
"Cooperative win-win" might be useful in resolving international disputes, but for the Great Britain Empire's balance of power policy in Europe, it was utterly toxic.
