Századok – 2013
KÉTSZÁZ ÉVE SZÜLETETT EÖTVÖS JÓZSEF - Deák Ágnes: "…Optimismus és pessimismus közti folytonos oscillálás" Eötvös József politikai programja a Schmerling-provizórium idején V/1137
1148 DEÁK AGNES „-CONTINUOUS OSCILLATION BETWEEN OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM” The Political Program of József Eötvös during the Schmerling Administration by Ágnes Deák Summary On the political ideas of József Eötvös and the plans which kept him busy between November 1861 and the summer of 1865 we have abundant information at our disposal. The present study contrasts a new source, the entries regarding József Eötvös in the diary led by Menyhért Lónyay, the future minister of finances, between November 1864 and February 1865, with the results of previous historical literature on the work of Eötvös. The lines written by Lónyay show the relationship between Eötvös and Ferenc Deák from a slightly different angle. It appears that the efforts of Eötvös and Ágoston Trefort at constructing networks within the ranks of the Austrian liberals enjoyed the backing of Deák in the backstage. The diary offers the possibility to examine more closely the plans elaborated by Eötvös regarding a possible constitutional compromise. Thus, in 1864 Eötvös proclaimed a program which was in several regards similar to the memorandum which the Hungarian conservatives had transmitted to the ruler late in 1862, but in some several important points it went further towards the program which Ferenc Deák was to publish in May 1865. By the autumn of 1865 his claim for gurantees of Hungarian independence had become markedly stronger, probably under the influence of Deák’s program. Although Eötvös himself thought that it was he who „dripped” his ideas into Deák, they probably mutually influenced each other. Furthermore, the study demonstrates through two hitherto unknown police reports the relative „unpopularity” of Eötvös within the political elite.
