Prince Yusuf Izzeddin Efendi and Midhat Pasaha: Ottoman reformer duo?

With the palace coups of the mid-1870s, was there any chance that Prince Yusuf (very small Wiki link, my apologies) could've been installed as Sultan and that Midhat Pasha could returned to act as Vizier (or some other powerful role) under him? Could they have managed to push through Young Ottoman reforms and install a standing constitution and parliament? Could they have managed to retain more of the Balkan Christian population than the Ottoman Empire did in OTL? Most importantly, could any reform they pass last beyond their time in power?
 
With the palace coups of the mid-1870s, was there any chance that Prince Yusuf (very small Wiki link, my apologies) could've been installed as Sultan and that Midhat Pasha could returned to act as Vizier (or some other powerful role) under him? Could they have managed to push through Young Ottoman reforms and install a standing constitution and parliament? Could they have managed to retain more of the Balkan Christian population than the Ottoman Empire did in OTL? Most importantly, could any reform they pass last beyond their time in power?

Well I hate to trumpet the whol 'sick man of Europe' thing, but by 1870 things were pretty bad. If they'd instigated many constitutional military and economic reforms, pulled out of the Caucusus, gotten some sort of treaty with the Russians and allowed politlca devolution in the Balkans then a very truncated Ottoman state could have survived in Asia and Egypt, with some Balkan power, although I have to say nationalism would still probably tear the empire apart- that's the thing, it happened to Austria, it happened to Russia (sort of) and it happened to the Ottomans, both fro mwithin (Young Turks) and without (think 1914 Sarejevo)
 
Well I hate to trumpet the whol 'sick man of Europe' thing, but by 1870 things were pretty bad. If they'd instigated many constitutional military and economic reforms, pulled out of the Caucusus, gotten some sort of treaty with the Russians and allowed politlca devolution in the Balkans then a very truncated Ottoman state could have survived in Asia and Egypt, with some Balkan power, although I have to say nationalism would still probably tear the empire apart- that's the thing, it happened to Austria, it happened to Russia (sort of) and it happened to the Ottomans, both fro mwithin (Young Turks) and without (think 1914 Sarejevo)
While I agree that, yeah, had they not had time to prepare themselves before the 1877 war, they certainly could've suffered some losses (Bosnia and Herzogovinia, probably northern Bulgaria, etc.), but the Ottomans were catching on fairly quick to the whole nationalism thing-- one concept which the government failed to properly work out before the Russians charged in and the pan-Slavic nationalism really flared up was "Ottomanism", which tried to encourage an Ottoman national identity centered around the dynasty and the shared history of the empire.

Seems to have come too late to do much good in the Christian Balkan provinces, but had they stuck to their guns and continued to develop the concept (especially the more Islam-tinted variant proposed by the Young Ottomans) and coupled the greater automony of provinces with a solid parliamentary structure in Constantinople, I'd figure it likely that they might've been able to at least hold on to southern Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and that whole south-central stretch of the Balkans.


I figure Egypt's mostly a lost cause by the 1870s, though. Too much French and British influence.
 
While I agree that, yeah, had they not had time to prepare themselves before the 1877 war, they certainly could've suffered some losses (Bosnia and Herzogovinia, probably northern Bulgaria, etc.), but the Ottomans were catching on fairly quick to the whole nationalism thing-- one concept which the government failed to properly work out before the Russians charged in and the pan-Slavic nationalism really flared up was "Ottomanism", which tried to encourage an Ottoman national identity centered around the dynasty and the shared history of the empire.

Seems to have come too late to do much good in the Christian Balkan provinces, but had they stuck to their guns and continued to develop the concept (especially the more Islam-tinted variant proposed by the Young Ottomans) and coupled the greater automony of provinces with a solid parliamentary structure in Constantinople, I'd figure it likely that they might've been able to at least hold on to southern Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and that whole south-central stretch of the Balkans.


I figure Egypt's mostly a lost cause by the 1870s, though. Too much French and British influence.

Not exactly very related, but I think the consequences of the OP's proposal would be similar to the premise of TTL below, especially regarding with Egypt and the Balkans :
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=100281
 
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