Politika
- Removal of Dr. Nikić
- WHAT MR. UZUNOVIĆ SAYS
- DR. V. JOVANOVIĆ IN PLACE OF DR. NIKIĆ
Politika's front-page political report of 9 October 1926 dealt with the first reshuffle of Nikola Uzunović's Radical–Croatian Peasant Party cabinet. The paper reported that Dr. Nikić, Minister of Forests and Mines, had been removed before the National Assembly and even the HSS club in Zagreb could meet, a step it presented as a win for Stjepan Radić's personal authority, while passing on claims that the victory would be short-lived. Another passage showed Uzunović laughing off reporters' request for news, before they reminded him that after his audience at Court he had denied any 'Nikić question'. The paper stated that the matter was settled on Thursday night without the knowledge of most ministers, with Dr. V. Jovanović taking Nikić's place.
This reading covers three partial excerpts from Politika's front page of 9 October 1926. Fold lines hide single lines in several columns, tile edges cut off line endings and some ministers' names, and [?] marks words that could not be read. Subheads that are only partly visible at the tile edges are not translated. The commentary does not cover how Pašić's Radical faction reacted to Jovanović's appointment or the coalition talks after the Assembly reconvened on 12 October, because the gathered material does not document them.
Translation
Removal of Dr. Nikić
…dare to wait, without changes, not only for the session of the National Assembly but not even for the meeting of the HSS club, which sat in Zagreb yesterday. And so the first changes came sooner than political circles had expected and sooner than the government itself wished. The first change was made in favour of the Radićists in general, and in particular in favour of the personal prestige and authority of Mr. St. Radić as chief of the Radićists. For the Minister of Forests and Mines, Dr. Nikić, has been removed from the government; that is, what the Radićists and Mr. St. Radić have long been demanding has been done, under the threat that they would make of that demand an is–
WHAT MR. UZUNOVIĆ SAYS
… Besides Dr. V. Jovanović and Dr. Nikić, several ministers were with Mr. Uzunović, among them Messrs. Srskić, M. Trifunović and B. Maksimović. Coming out of the Presidency of the Government, Mr. Uzunović came upon, as usual, representatives of the Belgrade and provincial papers. The journalists asked Mr. [?] about the latest news.
“Well, where were you last night, that I should have to tell you the news!” laughed Mr. Uzunović.
The journalists then remarked to Mr. Uzunović that he himself had said after the audience that there was nothing new and that there was no question of Dr. Nikić.
“Well, when I told you that, the matter –”
DR. V. JOVANOVIĆ IN PLACE OF DR. NIKIĆ
However, certain circles claim, this victory of Mr. Radić will be very short-lived..
DR. V. JOVANOVIĆ IN PLACE OF DR. NIKIĆ
As is known, the night before last, on his return from the Court, the Prime Minister, Mr. Uzunović, declared in answer to a journalists' question that there would be no changes of any kind. As regards Dr. Nikić, Mr. Uzunović considered it necessary to say that that question does not exist. And yet the question of Dr. Nikić was settled on Thursday night, and that, as could be established yesterday, without the knowledge of the greater part of the members of the government, [?] [?] [?] [?]
Context
How Nikić and Radić's party entered the government
Radić's Croatian Peasant Party reached the cabinet only after a sharp reversal. Radić was arrested in January along with leading members of his party, shortly before the February 1925 elections, yet the party then made an agreement with the People's Radical Party that combined power-sharing with the release of its jailed executive. Radić himself became Minister of Education, and Nikola Nikić was among the party members who received ministerial posts, alongside Pavle Radić, Benjamin Šuperina and Ivan Krajač. Politika's report treats Nikić's exit as a concession to the Radićists, carried out at the long-standing demand of Radić and his followers, and reads it as a boost to Radić's personal prestige as party chief. The surviving text does not explain why Radić wanted Nikić out; it concentrates on what the dismissal meant for Radić's standing inside the coalition.
Uzunović's position in the autumn of 1926
Nikola Uzunović had led the government only since April 1926, when Nikola Pašić was forced to resign in the face of corruption scandals. Uzunović's premiership was marked by internal conflict within the Radical Party and by a succession of short-lived governments, which may help explain why reporters watched a single ministerial change so closely. Politika's two reports set the prime minister's words against events. According to the paper, he told journalists on returning from the Court that there would be no changes and that the Nikić question did not exist, yet the question was settled on Thursday night without the knowledge of most ministers. The paper also lists Dr. V. Jovanović and Dr. Nikić among the ministers gathered with Uzunović, and it portrays the prime minister laughing off reporters' request for news before they reminded him of his earlier denial.
How long the Radical–Peasant partnership lasted after Nikić's removal
Politika passed on the view of unnamed circles that Radić's victory would be very short-lived. The partnership itself survived a few more months. The Croatian Peasant Party was still in government in late December 1926, when its member August Košutić was named Minister of Construction in Uzunović's government on 24 December, but the party left the coalition on 1 February 1927. Pašić, still president of the People's Radical Party, died of a heart attack at the age of 80 on 10 December 1926, and his death cut short the Radical–Peasant power-sharing arrangement. The removal of Nikić in October therefore came during the final phase of that coalition, not at its breakdown.
Original
Уклањање г. др. Никића
смео да сачека без промена не само састанак Народне Скупштине него ни састанак клуба ХСС. који је јуче заседавао у Загребу. И тако је до првих промена дошло пре него што се то очекивало у политичким круговима и пре него што се у самој влади желело. Прва промена учињена је у корист радићеваца уопште, а напосе у корист личног престижа и ауторитета г. Ст. Радића као шефа радићеваца. Јер из владе је уклоњен министар шума и руда др. Никић, дакле учињено је оно што радићевци и г. Ст. Радић одавно траже под претњом да ће од тога захтева правити пи -
ШТА КАЖЕ Г. УЗУНОВИЋ
ине. Поред др. В. Јовановића и др. Никића, код г. Узуновића било је више министара међу којима и г. г. Срскић, М. Трифуновић и Б. Максимовић. Излазећи из председништва владе г. Узуновић је наишао као и обично на представнике београдских и провинцијских листова. Новинари су питали г. [?] о последњим новостима. - Па где сте били ноћас да вам кажем новости! - смејао се г. Узуновић Новинари су на то приметили г. Узуновићу да је он сам после аудијенције рекао да нема ничега новог и да нема питања др. Никића. - Па када сам вам оно говорио ствар -
ДР. В. ЈОВАНОВИЋ НА МЕСТО ДР. НИКИЋА
Међутим, тврде извесни кругови, ова победа г. Радића биће веома кратког века.. ДР. В. ЈОВАНОВИЋ НА МЕСТО ДР. НИКИЋА Као што је познато, прексиноћ на повратку из Двора председник владе г. Узуновић изјавио је, на питање новинара, да неће бити никактвих промена. Што се тиче др. Никића, г. Узуновић је сматрао за потребно да каже да оно не постоји. Па ипак питање др. Никића решено је у четвртак ноћу и то, како се јуче могло констатовати, без знања највећег дела чланова владе, [?] [?] [?] [?]