Baják László Ihász István: The Hungarian National Museum History Exhibition Guide 4 - The short century of survival (1900-1990) (Budapest, 2008)

Room 17. The Hungary of Trianon from the Election of the Regent to the Last Year of Peace (1920-1938). László Baják

Outwardly he superbly symbolised the authority of a head of state, but sadly his outward qualities were in opposition with his inward ones." Miklós Horthy was no fervent believer in democracy; rather, he was a soldier demanding order and discipline, who to the end of his days preferred wearing his naval officer's uniform, and following his role model Franz Joseph represented an outdated conservatism. Among other things, in contrast with the king the Regent could not ennoble, he did not possess the right of patronage, he could not dissolve parliament and his orders only became valid with the countersignature of the responsible minister. However, as the "warrior chief" of the army his hands were free. At the beginning, under the prime ministership of István Bethlen, there was tacit agreement between them. According to this, Horthy dealt with every military matter, but did not interfere with either domestic matters or foreign policy. By 1921 the conditions for a Trianon Hungary had from many aspects been met. However, it took István Bethlen to stabilize the system. On April 14,1921 Bethlen took the prime minister's seat in place of Pál Teleki, who had fallen under suspicion of legitimism, and continued to occupy it for a decade. Bethlen was an adherent of realpolitik, who in a clever, businesslike way manoeuvred his way around the various political interests. Nonetheless, the results he achieved through his brilliant abilities commanded respect. The diplomat György Barcza had to say of him, "No sooner did Bethlen's lean, well-conditioned figure appear, the long cigarette holder in his mouth with the cigarette eternally smoking at the end, every debate fell silent, and everybody knew, everybody sensed that here was the "master" who settled every one of the country's matters... Not one fraught or impassioned word ever left his lips, he never used unnecessary flowers of speech; in this way he often discomfited smaller calibre opponents with the equanimity of a statesman and a gentleman." First of all, in the interests of broadening the