Original scientific paper
THE ELECTIONS FOR CROATIAN PARLIAMENT IN 1897: AFFIRMATION OF KHUEN'S AUTOCRACY
Stjepan Matković
; Croatian Institute of History, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Using the elections for the Croatian parliament as an example, the author analyzes the concept of ban Karol Khuen's rule. By repressive measures the ban broke the national resistance and made impossible almost any activity of the Croatian opposition. Khuen's rule was based upon one-sided interpretation of the Croatian-Hungarian agreement. Thus Khuen allowed the Hungarian government to break systematically the agreement to the disadvantage of Croatian inner autonomy. The elections for the parliament were just one more example of political repression. Helped by the representatives of the local administration, the regime prevented free campaign of oppositional candidates on the eve of the elections, prevented them from getting to the polling-place, threatened the voters, and in 1897 there were many military-police interventions which ended with many dead. One of the characteristics of the elections was active participation of Catholic priests on the side of the opposition. The reason for that was the government's policy of bringing laws against the church. The elections were the »mask« of constitutionality, because a small number of candidates were allowed to enter the parliament, but not to have any significant role in making political decisions.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
214023
URI
Publication date:
4.3.1998.
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