Page:Diplomacy and the War (Andrassy 1921).djvu/242

 The activity of the other parties created the fear that the party of Karolyi might gain the upper hand owing to their continuous agitation.

During the time of King Karl, I was in favour of a parliamentary battle along the whole of the line, because at that time I anticipated obtaining results from this procedure. I saw in advance with certainty that the new King would look about for new men, and that he would attempt to inaugurate a new tendency. I also knew that his interests demanded such a course of action, because it would have been a fatal mistake to take upon his shoulders the old haired by preserving the old régime. If the old régime had been continued, it might have led to a revolutionary atmosphere in certain circles. I feared, moreover, that if the new régime continued to neglect the Opposition, so great an embitterment would be created that a catastrophe was bound to occur in view of the given and difficult circumstances. The monopoly of the one party, which had lasted so long already, had this disadvantage anyhow: that the Conservative element of this party had become accustomed to a revolutionary atmosphere, and in certain leading strata of society a dangerous amount of hatred had been accumulated against the dynasty and the Government.

I advised the King to demand concentration, which is the most natural and best form of Government during the war. The King, however, adopted the platform of electoral reform and dismissed the Government of Tisza because his Government was not prepared to go far