Politika
- Mr. Radić Is Coming to Explain His Outburst
- MR. RADIĆ WILL TRY TO WRIGGLE OUT.
- AS TO CHRIST...
Politika's front page of 11 October 1926 was dominated by the crisis Stjepan Radić had set off with an outburst at Zagreb railway station. The paper reported that the incident had put Prime Minister Nikola Uzunović's government in an extraordinarily painful position and briefly endangered the Radical–Radićist coalition, which, according to political circles, survived mainly because the Radicals did not know what would follow a break. The headline announced that Radić was coming to explain himself, while a second piece predicted he would try to escape with 'some trick' and noted displeasure at the conduct of Dr. Žanić and Dr. Bazala toward visiting Czechoslovak parliamentarians in Zagreb. A third report described a rain-soaked rally among Slovenes, where Radić opened by telling his audience that they had long known each other 'through the gaze of the soul'.
This reading covers three fragmentary front-page excerpts. Many lines are cut off at column edges, and the translations mark the gaps with ellipses. The opening lines of the rally report are too garbled to translate and are left out. Only the beginning of Radić's speech was transcribed, so the passage behind the headline 'As to Christ...' is not included. The excerpts do not give first names for Dr. Žanić or Dr. Bazala or say what they did, and the place where the Slovene rally was held cannot be read.
Translation
Mr. Radić Is Coming to Explain His Outburst
1 dinar | Editorial office: 20-94; 9-53; 6-56
THE SITUATION
Mr. Radić is coming …
Mr. Radić's outburst at the Zagreb railway station has put Mr. Uzunović's government in an extraordinarily painful position, so painful that at one moment the Radical–Radićist coalition itself came into question. In the opinion of political circles, a break did not occur only because the Radicals were not clear about what would happen after such a break, and because the whole political situation is in general difficult for the Radicals … greatest … that the Radicals will not … explanation … and the Radicals … that such … must not … a break would have occurred.
Yesterday in political … that Mr. … himself … -grade, tomorrow in fact, … settle the dispute.
MR. RADIĆ WILL TRY TO WRIGGLE OUT.
… circles were left with a painful impression by the conduct of Dr. Žanić and Dr. Bazala before the Czechoslovak parliamentarians in Zagreb.
MR. RADIĆ WILL TRY TO WRIGGLE OUT.
As soon as Mr. St. Radić caused the incident at the Zagreb station, and as soon as the government made an issue of it and demanded an explanation from Mr. Radić, those in political circles who know Mr. Radić and his methods well said at once that Mr. Radić would surely try to wriggle out of his difficult position with some trick. Judging by what could be heard in political circles yesterday, it appears that Mr. Radić will indeed try to extricate himself with a trick. What Mr. Radić was reproached for most was that he himself today and on it his further conduct … and toward the Radi…
AT THE R…
From the Radićists … arrived yesterday, but he too, like …, was completely closed in view of what … session of the HSS (… his … are due to arrive … days). And yet even … of the Radićists, it is learned … circles that not … in the least satisfied … The Radićists … their demand … and do not hide that it will be … which would decide …
AS TO CHRIST...
… fewer than the conveners had expected, because rain had poured all night right up to the very opening of the meeting. The meeting was opened by the president of the local organization, Mr. Svitešić. He immediately gave the floor to Mr. Radić, who said, in essence:
AS TO CHRIST...
Dear Slovenes, honoured Slovene women, until now we have not known one another by sight, but we have long known one another through the gaze of the soul. You have heard and read in the Croatian peasant –
Context
Why the Radicals and Radić's party were governing together
Politika treats the Radical–Radićist coalition as a partnership that a single outburst could nearly break, and the partners' history explains that fragility. Stjepan Radić had spent his career opposing the union of 1918 and what he regarded as Serb hegemony in the new state. In 1925 his Croatian Peasant Party changed course: on 27 March 1925 it recognised the rule of the monarch and the Vidovdan Constitution before the full parliament, and it made an agreement with the conservative Serbian People's Radical Party under which the two shared power. The coalition therefore joined former adversaries, which is why Politika could write that the station incident had at one point called the coalition itself into question. The paper's further claim that the Radicals held back only because they did not know what would follow a break comes from unnamed political circles. It is the paper's reporting, not settled history.
A prime minister already under strain
Nikola Uzunović had been prime minister for only about six months when the Zagreb incident occurred. He took office after Nikola Pašić was forced to resign in April 1926 amid corruption scandals, and his premiership was marked by internal conflict within the Radical Party and a succession of short-lived governments. That background gives weight to Politika's remark that the whole political situation was difficult for the Radicals. A cabinet resting on a divided Radical Party and an unpredictable Croatian partner had little room to absorb a public quarrel with Radić, which helps explain why the paper presented Radić's explanation as the way to settle the dispute rather than as a prelude to a break.
Czech connections behind the Zagreb visit
Politika reports only that the conduct of Dr. Žanić and Dr. Bazala before Czechoslovak parliamentarians in Zagreb left a painful impression; the legible fragment does not say what they did. The paper gives no first names, but the Dr. Bazala meant may well be the philosopher Albert Bazala, whom a Croatian minority-heritage site counts among the outstanding Croatian figures of Czech origin and one of the best philosophical writers of his time. Czech ties also ran through Radić's own circle. Radić had spent time in Prague, where he briefly led the Progressive Youth, and August Košutić, later appointed Minister of Construction in Uzunović's government, had studied engineering in Brno in Czechoslovakia after the First World War. Against that background, the reception of a Czechoslovak delegation in Zagreb could be read in Belgrade as a gesture with political meaning, which helps explain why the paper reported on it alongside the Radić affair.
Radić's rallies and the pressure from Croatian critics
The third report shows Radić addressing Slovenes at a rally held after a night of heavy rain, opening with the claim that he and his listeners had long known each other through the gaze of the soul. Evidence from the following year shows why Radić needed such rallies. A 2019 study of the Croatian Peasant Party in Bosnia and Herzegovina found that rival Croatian parties and part of the Catholic clergy attacked the party for giving up republicanism and recognising the Vidovdan Constitution, and accused Radić of fighting against the Catholic religion. The party leadership answered with an aggressive campaign that visited every place with potential voters and founded new branches. The study concerns the 1927 elections and a different region, so it does not describe the Slovene rally itself, but it shows the pressure under which Radić campaigned while allied with the Radicals. The headline 'As to Christ...' points to a comparison made later in the speech, beyond the portion that can be read.
What became of the coalition
The coalition survived the October quarrel for a while. On 24 December 1926 August Košutić was named Minister of Construction in Uzunović's government, a sign that the partnership was still functioning more than two months after Politika's report. It did not last much longer: the HSS left the coalition on 1 February 1927. Radić himself was later shot in parliament by the Radical politician Puniša Račić and died several weeks later from the wound. Seen from that outcome, the coalition Politika described in October 1926, held together mainly by the Radicals' uncertainty about any alternative, was already approaching its end.
Original
Г. Радић долази да објасни свој испад
1 динар | Уредништво: 20-94; 9-53; 6-56 СИТУАЦИЈА Г. Радић долази д Испад г. Радића на загребачкој железничкој станици довео је владу г. Узуновића у изванредно мучан положај, толико мучан да је чак у један мах у питање дошла и сама коалиција радикално-радићевска. По мишљењу политичких кругова до раскида није дошло само због тога што радикали нису били начисто шта ће после тога раскида и што је уопште целокупна политичка ситуација тешка по радикале највећим да радикали нећ ље објашњењем к но, а радикали, в дили да се такво но не би смело п дошло до раскида Јуче се у полит дило да ће сам г град и то сутра изравна спор.
Г. РАДИЋ ЋЕ ПОКУШАТИ ДА СЕ ИЗВУЧЕ.
ке кругове направило мучан утисак држање др. Жанића и др. Базале пред чехословачким парламентарцима у Загребу. Г. РАДИЋ ЋЕ ПОКУШАТИ ДА СЕ ИЗВУЧЕ. Чим је г. Ст. Радић направио инцидент на загребачкој станици и чим је у влади од тога направљено питање и од г. Радића затражено објашњење, у оном делу политичких кругова који добро познају г. Радића и његове методе, одмах је речено да ће г. Радић већ покушати да се неким триком извуче из тешког положаја. Према ономе што се јуче могло чути у политичким круговима има изгледа да ће г. Радић заиста покушати да се извуче једним триком. Највише је г. Радићу замерено што је себе данас и на њој своје даље држа ма и према ради КОД Р Од радићевски је јуче допутова али је и он као био потпуно зак гледу онога шта седници ХСС. (треба да стигну њег дана). Па ипак и пор ћеваца, сазнаје кругова да ни с најмање задовољ јом. Радићевци с њихов захтев из кић и не крију, да ће то бити н који би се одлуч
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