What Was Central Government In Austria Like Before The Reforms Of 1740?

The government was responsible for very long delays before orders were implemented. All the official bodies saw themselves as separate entities, more concerned with the extension of their own power a prestige than serving the monarch. The different government departments spent time criticising each other whilst pursuing their own interests as well as neglecting official business. Those in government wasted too much time in unnecessary bickering and they obstructed the implementation of orders. The ministers were elderly and favoured old styles of government.

Maria Theresa thought the conduct of affairs had to be more concentrated and go through fewer hands. The need for this had been highlighted by Austria's defeat by Prussia in the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48). The government needed to be more centralised to return more authority and power back to hands of the empress and reduce the power in the hands of local and provincial diets.