Szőcs Sebestyén: Budapest székesfőváros részvétele az 1905-1906. évi nemzeti ellenállásban - Várostörténeti tanulmányok 1. (Budapest, 1977)

6. Befejezés

ness of further "struggle"; the conditions were ripe for the new negotiations between the king and the coalition which at this point were concluded succesfully : the coalition was ready to give up the military claims and to accept without more ado the forming of a cabinet. The monarch relieved the Fejérváry cabinet on April 8th, and the same day appointed the new cabinet with Sándor Wekerle's leadership. When the Fejérváry cabinet was relieved the royal comissarys were also recalled. Subsequent to Rudnay's departure the restoration of the constitutionalism and legality was commenced both in legal and in personal regards. The legal aspects of the question are fundamentally not of any interest: it was a captious fault detecting and a constitutional hair-splitting without any political bearing. Its personal connection, however, were all the more interesting, namely this problem was closely related to the question which of the interest groups would succeeded in enforcing its influence in the management of the capital. The wing of the former opposition led by Polónyi had evidently a strong claim and its claim was, despite of being that of a minority, a realistic one; i. e. its influence and its possibilities were enormously increased by the opposition's taking over the government. They managed to assure the Lord Mayor's seat for their own nominee Kálmán Fülepp, ex-attorney general; but in the case of filling of the mayor's post, considered more important from urban political viewpoint, they were defeated. In order to put an end to their aspirations a collaboration was established between the members of the liberals—of the Municipal Democratic Party-led by Vázsonyi and the members of the majority of the assembly; the candidate of the union formed in that way and named United Municipal Democratic Party was István Bárczy, an alderman, head of the education department, who won the battle for the office of the mayor. In his person such a politician became the mayor who considered the expansion of the capital autonomy one of his most significant and urgent tasks. Bárczy essentially adopted the Municipal Democratic Party's platform and made efforts to fulfil it. Vázsonyi and his companions intended to widen the autonomy in two directions: on the one hand against the government, on the other hand they wanted to involve a broader strata of the capital's inhabitants in excercising the right of self-government. These endeavours were opposed to not only by the government, but by the majority of the assembly as well, and could not be implemented even after the United Municipal Democratic Party had been established and Bárczy had been elected to mayor. The democratization of the structure of the power-institution in the capital was not to the interest of the capitalist elements representing the majority in the municipal committee. To use moderate tactics by democratic promises and certain conessions of not so great importance in the given situation-under the time of prosperity of the struggle of suppressed classes and subsequent to establishing a coalition cabinet-proved to be the proper political means, but they tried to avert any additional and more fundamental alterations. With full success since under the period of Bárczy's administration neither the long overdue revision of the capital law nor other reforms of the same importance were carried out. Nevertheless, the Bárczy administration brought about, even if only partially, a new trend of urban policy; the "Bárczy regime" because of its achievements particularly in the field of citydevelopment, may be considered undoubtedly one of the "great eras" of the capital. 190