The mandate of Wille was rife with political problems. A scandal occurred in the French-speaking area of Switzerland when Wille proposed to the Federal Council on 20 July 1915, to enter the war on the side of the Central Powers. Thereafter, the "Colonels' Affair" in 1916 also had a great repercussion. Two Swiss colonels had given German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats specimens of the "Staff Gazette", a confidential journal, and Russian messages deciphered by Swiss cryptanalysts. The affair risked Swiss neutrality since it implied collusion with one of the belligerents. Wille decided to condemn the two colonels to 20 days' detention, an unsatisfactory sentence in the eyes of the pro-Allied party.