Horváth J. András: A megigényelt világváros. Budapest hatósága és lakossága a városegyesítés éveiben - Disszertációk Budapest Főváros Levéltárából 2. (Budapest, 2010)

Summary

proposals on town-landscape. Beside aldermen’s embellishing attitude, human-ecological aspirations were obvious. The proposals targeted mainly austerity budgeting; how to save the city property; how to promote administration effectiveness, etc. Issues relating to strong social questions seldom occurred as objects of city-perception in the 1880s. High rank city clerks declared war against district particularism with rare success. The local election system was rather a democratic representation caricature: scant elective franchise, overcomplicated, abusive regulations, everyday corruption accusations, voters ’ chronic indolence and political apathy. The system showed more similarities than differences, according to me, with those of Western countries. The elections of 1867 can be assessed as a certain effort to establish a constitutional urban tradition. Pre-1873 urban élite produced simultaneously different effects. An administrative culture bequested from former feudal times; 1848 civic-democratic tradition; first stiff than softer bureaucratic dictature of the ’50s and of the 1862—1866 years. For most old and new aldermen, the ’48 tradition meant a basic point for orientation, keeping in mind political conditions and definitenesses. Elections were characterized by social diversification and differences of concept of values, beyond the fundamental split on basic constitutional issues. On the one side was the „official public opinion”, with intellectuals representatives taking mostly into consideration standard points of view and endeavouring to accept European norms; on the other side were traditional members of the petty bourgeoisie with strong sentiments with respect to the old world of the guilds. City assemblies in both cities were dominated rather by the fomer kind of representatives. Circumstances such as occasional conscriptions of voters, missing local programmes, narrow-minded private aspirations, unproportional electing methods kept in apathy the local public. Although the system was able to guarantee the presence of local representatives motivated by the needy. The determinant factor regarding the social profile of 1873 new city assembly was the well-stuffed marchants, in accordance with new members of upper middle classes and many of jewish origin. Other important factors were the increased number of physicians and lawyers as well as the decline of old types of craftsmen. Regarding the later period, emerging proportions of state clerks and bankers, and decreasing manufacturers were observed. The greatest losers were the old 465

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