AZ ORSZÁGOS SZÉCHÉNYI KÖNYVTÁR ÉVKÖNYVE 1974-1975. Budapest (1978)

III. Könyvtörténeti és művelődéstörténeti tanulmányok - Frank Tibor: Apponyi Rudolf londoni követsége (1856—1871) - The London Embassy of Rudolf Apponyi (1856-1871)

achieved its best results in the 1860s: for at that time the political interests of the two great powers coincided on several points and, at the same time, the image of Austria and Hungary in British public opinion was a comparatively true reflection of the actual state of the Empire. All this was corroborated, in a rather paradoxical way, at the very end of APPONYI'S stay in London

: for then Austro-Hungarian foreign policy, under the instigation of Count Gyula ANDRÁSSY was taking a reverse turn and, in Britain, a policy of isolation started to be propagated more and more openly by important sections of the ruling classes. APPONYI and the whole of the conservative Hochadel found themselves more and more out of step with the times. Yet, APPONYI'S activity, even in the successful 1860s, was confined to a fairly restricted circle

: the political elite. Thus Vienna renounced winning over the nationalbourgeois public opinion, insignificant though it might seem in those days, but becoming more and more influential. The activity of APPONYI'S Embassy in London in shaping public opinion seems to have been confined merely to the 'genuine' aristocracy. The notion of 'public opinion' was interpreted by APPONYI and his circle in a restricted way, and they hardly took into account the bourgeois shapers and fashioners of public thinking. This seems to have been demonstrated by the failure they met with when trying to approach and influence the British press. Thus the limitations of Vienna's conceptions in external affairs were truly reflected by the Austrian Embassy in London. Although the Ministry for Foreign Affairs did take cognizance of the internal-social changes taking place in Western Europe, it did not come to the logical conclusions : the composition of the Embassy staff and the spirit of the foreign representations had scarcely altered since the time of Clemens METTERNICH. And the example of Rudolf APPONYI illustrates perfectly the significant role played by the social composition and background of those people working to influence public opinion, in both the direction and results of their activities. 507