Miklós Bánffy - They Were Found Wanting

These subjects were, after all, purely internal problems for the members of the Coalition. There were others, however — external problems that united rather than divided the Coalitionists. The most important of these was the sinister import of Count Tisza’s political activities. The former Minister-President was suspected of every wickedness; it was he, they said, who was behind every obstacle that might hinder the achievement of the Coalition’s programme. Tisza was the only man who was feared by everyone, and hatred of him formed such a bond between the diverse members of the Coalition that it at least had the effect of keeping the alliance in being. If once we are divided, they said, then the dreaded Tisza would get in again — and that would be worse than anything! This fear had kept them together from the start.

More recently there had arisen another subject for speculation and rumour. This was not quite as exciting as getting worked up about the wicked Count Tisza, but it still served to keep people’s tongues wagging. This was the mysterious goings-on of Kristoffy.

Everyone remembered that in the spring Kristoffy had started to canvass the ideas of founding a Radical Party. Since then little had been heard of the project. Now, however, in September, the joyful news came that the idea had been abandoned, the party premises had been given up, and the party itself dissolved. The Corridor did not rejoice for long, for as soon as the new session had been opened it was revealed that what had really happened was that Kristoffy was now addressing himself to the vast numbers of agricultural workers rather than to the more limited ranks of those members of the middle-class who had a liking for radical ideas. Now, in association with a number of petty leaders from Pest, he had started to advertise meetings under such new names as the Peasants’ Party and the National Agricultural Workers’ Party. No one had ever heard of anything so absurd as to start organizing political parties formed of those people who owned nothing, and who talked irresponsibly of the redistribution of landed wealth and even of emigration.

No one in the independent camp had been worried by the radicals in the middle classes. That was only a minor irritation and in any case was confined to the towns and to a limited number of ineffective intellectuals. Neither were they worried by the apparent rise of trade union influence. Neither of those two issues was truly Hungarian, after all — one was merely play-acting, and of course the other was just a matter of Jewish trouble-making! Neither mattered at all. But to start stirring up the village people — that was quite another thing. That meant trouble. Just as people were beginning to get worried about Kristoffy the news came in that something similar was going on at Somogy. There some country bumpkin from Nagyatad, one Istvan Szabo, was making a real nuisance of himself. That, they said, really must be stopped — and quickly, for did not the Hungarian peasantry form their very own faithful band of loyal supporters? No one must be allowed to monkey about with them!

At once there was an outcry and the Corridor rang with calls for immediate and drastic, if not draconian, action. Andrassy must, they demanded, send out cohorts of gendarmes and put a stop to all this nonsense. Such gatherings as were now advertised must be strictly forbidden, on pain of God knows what, as it was clearly unpatriotic to distract the attention of simple electors from such vital matters as independent national banking and customs systems with subversive talk about minimum wage scales, the law of master and servant, and emigration. It was ridiculous to bring up these issues now. Why, had Daranyi not just introduced new legislation to deal with such matters, even though it had not yet come into force; and was there not a new commissioner to control all emigration matters and a new contract with the Cunard Line, not to speak of the magnificent newly-constructed clearing house for emigrants at Fiume? You only had to go and look; it was truly beautiful!

What irresponsible demagoguery it was to spread gossip about the Coalition not caring about the needs of ordinary people! How dared people say such things! It ought to be put a stop to!

If Andrassy wished, from the lordly height of his social position, to appear impartial, and therefore to make it clear that he respected the right of all people to gather together and express their political opinions, saying that they had the same rights of assembly as us , then someone should make it clear to him that our meetings are right and proper, because we are true patriots, whereas they are nothing but a band of lackeys and play-actors! Someone must tell him! And as for this new party: well, it just shouldn’t be allowed, it was as simple as that! In fact it was everybody’s patriotic duty to see that it was suppressed. If Andrassy failed to do his duty then someone should point out to him that in any case the 1848 Party still had a majority in the House and could therefore outvote anything anyone else might propose.

It was this sort of thing that was being said by those whose interests lay in the Great Hungarian Plain. Those whose interests were not so tied up with the country’s largest agricultural province merely shrugged their shoulders and asked themselves, and everyone else who would listen, whether there was any point in worrying about such things now when the next elections were still three years away.

The newly assembled Members of Parliament met each other in the corridor of the House and argued out these matters, some shouting their views for all to hear, others whispering in dark corners or plotting their next moves in the shadow of the drawing-room’s lofty pillars. No one, however, bothered to discuss what might be going on in other parts of the Dual Monarchy, let alone on the world’s great stage. It was true that at this time there were no world-shattering events to discuss — though what was happening outside the boundaries of Hungary proper was, for anyone with eyes to see, symptomatic of some very important trends.

For instance, there was the great ‘Sokolist’ meeting held at Susak, the sister-town of Fiume, at which the Czechs and Slovenes and Croats all fell on each others’ necks and embraced warmly. Shortly after this there were bloody riots in Kraijna when Slovenes and ethnic Germans fought a bloody battle — but as all this happened on Austrian territory no one in Budapest was much interested.

Nor was there much interest in the fact that the Ban of Croatia — Hungary’s own appointed viceroy — and his deputy were publicly insulted in Zagreb and now could not move about without a special escort of bodyguards. No one had much to say either about the long-drawn-out business of appointing the new Serbian Patriarch of Karloca, even though the first two candidates proposed by the Serbs were rejected by the monarch and a third had to be found who was considered acceptable to the state.

All these things were, of course, almost parochial since they were events within the boundaries of the Dual Monarchy. As to news from other parts of Europe, this was looked upon merely as a moving picture to be gazed at with amused detachment. No one really believed that what they now read in the foreign pages of the newspapers could possibly be of much significance. Apparently the British fleet had visited Reval! Oh, really? You realize it’s a most sinister display of Anglo-Russian friendship? Is it, indeed? Well, I never! The Bulgarian army has taken over control of the State Railways! Why on earth would they do that? Won’t it provoke the Turks? What rubbish! Prince Ferdinand would hardly be jaunting about all over Europe if he were planning to declare war. Isn’t he expected here tomorrow?