"'But the common unified command language has never denationalized a man ...' Slovenian Catholic politics between nationalism, political pragmatism and loyalty to the emperor" - When the Austrian parliament was debating the new defence law in 1912, the Slovene People's Party supported the government with all possible means. Ignoring its long-held political principles, the party voted with the government in each and every case. Its MP, Ignacij Žitnik, even endorsed the continuous dominance of German in the armed forces in his speech, causing a temporary split in the joint Slovene-Croat caucus, because the Croat MPs from Dalmatia were not ready to support such a course. The analysis of Slovene People's Party actions indicates that it was ready to publicly give up on one of the central tenets of ethnolinguistic nationalism--the use of the national language in all the situations--to appear as military-friendly as possible. By 1912, the People's Party had given up on attaining a favourable reform of the Empire through the parliament. Party leaders now pinned all their hopes on the heir to the throne, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, expecting that he would enact the reform from above at the time of his accession to the throne. Therefore, persuading the Archduke and the army that they are a reliable ally, became their main political strategy.
|
