Urbs - Magyar várostörténeti évkönyv 2. (Budapest, 2007)

Abstracts

ERIKA VARSÁNYI The Social Democratic Faction on the Municipal Board of Budapest 1925-1948 After the municipal elections of 1925, the Hungarian Social Democratic Party (MSZDP) for the first time could directly participate in the work of the Budapest municipal government through its 53 representatives. From the very beginning, the social democratic faction gave high priority to preserving the rights and competencies of the local government, and demanded the drafting of a new metropolitan law in pursuit of full autonomy. However, the new metropolitan laws of 1930 and 1934 further eroded local government autonomy, and limited the political power of the opposition. The elections based on the above laws combined with the anti-Jewish legislation led to the gradual weakening of the social democratic position at city hall. In the spirit of their small-town platform drafted in 1924, and revised at the beginning of the 1930s, MSZDP representatives swung into action in nearly all areas and forums. They tackled most successfully issues of social policy, such as human protection, unemployment and housing problems. At the turn of 1944-45, the MSZDP found itself in an entirely new position. Now, it could participate in the reconstruction of Budapest as the second most important governing party of the Transitional National Assembly. The acquisition of key positions in city government and public administration gave the MSZDP more purchase over Budapest's management than their seats in the General Assembly and special committees would have allowed. Representatives of the MSZDP made good use of their power, and performed estimably in the realm of practical small-town policies. However, during the last year of the coalition, effective work at the municipal government was hindered by daily political skirmishes, intrigues, and personal conflicts. Social democrats were mainly preoccupied with concerns over cooperation with the communists and the fusion of the two parties. After nearly a quarter of a century, social democratic participation in municipal politics ended with the so-called fusion of the two labour parties: on 23 June 1948, the carefully selected former members of the MSZDP attended the General Assembly of Budapest in the faction of the Hungarian Workers' Party.