They Were Divided - Miklos Banffy [111]
Tisza listened attentively. He never once interrupted the younger man, but he looked closely at him through the thick glasses which made his grey eyes seem so enormous.
When Balint finished he answered him point by point with circumstantial detail to reinforce what he was saying. He conceded that Abady was in many ways right in what he said and particularly that anyone who succeeded in bringing down the obstructionists was putting his head on the political block. But … but … over-riding all other considerations was the vital necessity of restoring order to Parliament. He did not deny what Balint had said about his own pre-eminent stature, it was so self-evident that to do so would have been a pose unworthy of him; and Tisza was no poseur. He knew that his country would probably have need of him in the future, but despite the risks he had decided that now it was for him to act. He alone had the prestige to carry it off and no one else could shoulder that particular burden. He would not regret it, even if it meant that afterwards he would have to abandon public life. It was necessary for the country; and the cause was worth the sacrifice.
‘If I have to I will then go quietly into retirement.’
His reasoning was like a well-forged chain. There was not a single flaw, nor an unnecessary word. Every phrase was as solidly cast as bronze.
Tisza then got to his feet and as Balint was escorting him back to the corridor of the House he thanked the younger man for his good wishes in the most friendly terms. Then, tall, erect and broad-shouldered, he walked calmly to the head of the stairs and disappeared from Balint’s sight.
Tisza was elected Speaker on May 22nd.
The socialists, who saw in this the death-knell of all their plans, at once announced a general strike. The factory workers turned out in force, joined up with the city rabble, and started overturning trams and trucks so as to build barricades. The mob was heading for the Parliament building but was stopped by the police at the corner of Alkotmany Street. Stones were thrown at the police and a few pistol-shots were heard. Then the police fired back: six dead, 182 wounded.
While this was happening in the square outside, the legislators in the House were still voting for or against a host of unconsidered trifles.
Throughout the country it seemed as if a storm was brewing.
That was what each man felt and fancied he saw. Behind Tisza’s back all sorts of surreptitious discussions were taking place. Secret messages passed between Laszlo Lukacs and the Independents and, though it never became known exactly what happened, it seemed likely that the Minister-President was still seeking a peaceful solution through agreement over the suffrage question. What was certain was that Kossuth and Justh believed that such an agreement, whether based on law or not, existed. Only that could explain why, on June 1st, Kossuth demanded to be heard in debate and offered, in the name of the Independent Party, to abandon all obstructionist activity if the number of those to receive the vote was increased by 120 per cent. Lukacs at first gave an evasive answer but on the following day he refused categorically to accept Kossuth’s proposal. Some people thought then that he must have been influenced by fear of Tisza, but it is more likely that he had had to stall so as to have time to consult the Belvedere, and that the Heir refused his agreement because he had set his face against all radical reform until he succeeded to the throne.
The disappointment aroused a storm of indignation in the ranks of the Independent Party and their next meeting was held in an angry mood.
This was the situation which Balint found