  Despite his implacable hostility to radical democracy and egalitarianism, Rehberg's general stance toward the Revolution, as that of the Hannoverians in general, is best described as reform conservatism.  Its task was to walk the fine middle path between revolution and reaction.  Rehberg disapproved of the reactionaries in Germany no less than the revolutionaries in France.  He realized that the expectations aroused by the Revolution made it impossible to return to the old authoritarian ways.[33]  The only means to preserve the old order against revolutionary ferment was through timely reforms.  Reform from above should placate and dampen the revolutionary demands coming from below.  The best way forward, he believed, was for the German Kleinstaat to evolve in the direction of the English Parliament.  The estates should become again what they had been in the medieval past: representative bodies that could check the power of kings and serve the interests of the public.  Given Rehberg's mistrust of democracy and egalitarianism, it is perhaps going too far to describe his reform program as “one of constitutional advance under the disguise of antiquarian  claims”.[34]  Nevertheless, when we consider his liberal values and contempt for reactionaries, it is necessary to admit that there is some measure of truth to this description. 