Abstract
In the mid-1920s, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) recognized the widespread discontent of the electorate with the parliamentary system of government in general and, more specifically, with the institution of parliaments in many European countries. The IPU asked some internationally renowned experts to share their views on the causes and consequences of this crisis and formulated at the same time a resolution that included some proposals about how the crisis could be overcome. The Hungarian National Group of the IPU forwarded the proposals to politicians and scholars and published an edited volume with reactions from the Hungarian respondents in 1929. This chapter will present an overview of these reactions, but first a narrative framework that might be applied to the Hungarian reactions to the IPU proposals will be presented (section ‘Narrative Framework: The Crisis of Parliamentarism and the Expectation Gap’). Secondly, this chapter delineates the general political context in Hungary with special reference to the development of Hungarian parliamentarism in the inter-war period (section ‘Developments of Parliamentarism in Hungary in the Inter-War Period’). Thirdly, some insights into the public discourse on the crisis of parliamentarism will be given (section ‘Developments of the Political Discourse on Parliamentarism’), and fourthly the Hungarian reactions to the IPU proposals will be analysed (section ‘Hungarian Reactions to the IPU Draft Resolution from 1928’).
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- 1.
David Judge, ‘A Crisis of Parliament’ in David Richards et al. (eds.), Institutional Crisis in 21st-Century Britain (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) 81.
- 2.
Matthew Flinders and Alexandra Kelso, ‘Mind the Gap: Political Analysis, Public Expectations and the Parliamentary Decline Thesis’ in British Journal of Politics and International Relations, vol. 13 (2011) No 2, 249.
- 3.
To a highly useful overview, see Marie-Luise Recker and Andreas Schulz (eds.), Parlamentarismuskritik und Antiparlamentarismus in Europa (Dusseldorf: Droste Verlag, 2018).
- 4.
On various functions of parliaments from the perspective of political science: Ami Kreppel, ‘Typologies and Classifications’ in Shane Martin, Thomas Saalfeld and Kaare W. Strøm (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014) 85; Werner J. Patzelt, ‘Parlamente und ihre Funktionen’ in Werner J. Patzelt (ed.), Parlamente und ihre Funktionen. Institutionelle Mechanismen und institutionelles Lernen im Vergleich (Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag, 2003) 13. From the perspective of history of ideas: Pasi Ihalainen, Cornelia Ilie and Kari Palonen, ‘Introduction: Parliament as a Conceptual Nexus’ in Pasi Ihalainen, Cornelia Ilie and Kari Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism. A Comparative History of a European Concept (New York/Oxford: Berghahn, 2016) 6.
- 5.
Gerhard Loewenberg, ‘The Role of Parliaments in Modern Political Systems’ in Gerhard Loewenberg (ed.), Modern Parliaments: Change or Decline (New York: Aldine, 1971) 5–13.
- 6.
For early reflections on the phenomenon of expectation gap, see Harold Laski, Reflections on the Constitution (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1951); Herbert Morrison, Government and Parliament (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1954); Ivor Jennings, Parliament (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1957); Bernard Crick, The Reform of Parliament (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1964). Most recently: Gerry Stoker, Why Politics Matters? Making Democracy Work (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006); Colin Hay, Why We Hate Politics? (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007); Matthew Flinders, Defending Politics. Why Democracy Matters in the Twenty-First Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).
- 7.
Flinders and Kelso, ‘Mind the Gap’, 251.
- 8.
Ibid., 264.
- 9.
For the following summary of political developments, see Romsics Ignác, Hungary in the Twentieth Century (Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, 2010).
- 10.
Boros Zsuzsanna and Szabó Dániel, Parlamentarizmus Magyarországon 1867–1944 [Parliamentarism in Hungary 1867–1944] (Budapest: Eötvös Kiadó, 2014) 159.
- 11.
On legitimist groups see Békés Márton, ‘A legitimisták és a legitimizmus’ [The legitimists and the legitimism] in Romsics Ignác (ed.), A magyar jobboldali hagyomány [The Hungarian Right-Wing Tradition] (Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, 2009) 214.
- 12.
On the differences between Hungarian and British parliamentarism of the late nineteenth century, see Pócza Kálmán, ‘Distrust in Government. A Comparative Historical Analysis’ in Kontler László and Mark Somos (eds.), Trust and Happiness in the History of European Political Thought (Leiden: Brill, 2018) 236–256.
- 13.
Gergely Jenő, ‘Titkos választás és ellenforradalom–1920’ [Secret elections and counter-revolution–1920] in Földes György–Hubai László (eds.), Parlamenti választások Magyarországon 1920–1998 [Parliamentary Elections in Hungary 1920–1998] (Budapest: Napvilág Kiadó, 1999) 75.
- 14.
On this provisional constitutional settlement, see Schweitzer Gábor and Szabó István (eds.), A közjogi provizórium (1920–1944) időszakának alkotmányos berendezkedése I. [Constitutional settlement and provisional constitutional arrangement 1920–1944] (Budapest: Pázmány Press, 2016).
- 15.
Olasz Lajos, ‘A kormányzói jogkör’ [Constitutional Powers of the Governor] in Romsics Ignác (ed.), A magyar jobboldali hagyomány [The Hungarian Right-Wing Tradition] (Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, 2009) 102.
- 16.
The doctrine of the Holy Crown refers to a simple idea of Hungarian public law: sovereignty belongs neither to the King nor to the people of Hungary, but to the Holy Crown. This idea excludes both the absolute sovereignty of the King of Hungary and the people since the absolute sovereign is only the Holy Crown. This is the final source of legitimacy for the kings and the state. The doctrine of the Holy Crown refers to the Crown of the first Christian king of Hungary, which was sent by the pope to the inauguration of King Stephen I (1000–38). This crown has been lost, but the crown known today as the Holy Crown dates back certainly to the twelfth century according to historians. This holy object had a highly adventurous ‘life’. Nevertheless it has been preserved and transmitted through centuries. From the thirteenth century on, the inauguration and coronation of Hungarian kings was valid and accepted by Hungarian nobles only if the Archbishop of Esztergom put that very crown on the head of the new king. Péter László, ‘The Holy Crown of Hungary, Visible and Invisible’ in Péter László, Hungary’s Long Nineteenth Century. Constitutional and Democratic Traditions in a European Perspective (Leiden: Brill, 2012) 15.
- 17.
Püski Levente, A Horthy-korszak parlamentje [Parliament in the Horthy era] (Budapest: Országgyűlés Hivatala, 2015) 325.
- 18.
Leading theoretical journals with a special focus on political developments included Társadalomtudomány [Social Science], Századunk [Our Century], Magyar Szemle [Hungarian Review] and Szocializmus [Socialism].
- 19.
Boros Zsuzsanna, ‘Parlamentarizmus a két világháború közötti Magyarországon’ [Parliamentarism in Hungary in the Inter-War Period] in Boros Zsuzsanna, Parlamenti viták a Horthy korban [Parliamentary debates in the Horthy era] (Budapest: Rejtjel Kiadó, 2006) 47.
- 20.
Boros, ‘Parlamentarizmus’, 50.
- 21.
Püski, A Horthy-korszak parlamentje, 21. Only two elections were held on the basis of universal suffrage, in 1920 and in 1939.
- 22.
Erényi Tibor, ‘Többpárti választások és parlamentarizmus Magyarországon 1920–1947’ [Multi-party elections and parliamentarism in Hungary 1920–1947] in Földes György and Hubai László (eds.), Parlamenti választások Magyarországon 1920–1998 [Parliamentary Elections in Hungary 1920–1998] (Budapest: Napvilág Kiadó, 1999) 259.
- 23.
Sipos Balázs, ‘Sajtó, sajtópolitika és nyilvánosság a Horthy-korszakban’ [Press, press regulation and public sphere in the Horthy-era] in Korunk vol. 23 (2012) No 11, p. 76.
- 24.
Boros, ‘Parlamentarizmus’, 51.
- 25.
Ibid., 53.
- 26.
Inter-Parliamentary Union (ed.), The Development of the Representative System of Our Times: Five Answers to an Inquiry Instituted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (Lausanne/Geneva: Libr. Payot, 1928). And in German: Interparlamentarische Union (ed.), Die gegenwärtige Entwicklung des repräsentativen Systems. Fünf Antworten auf eine Rundfrage der Interparlamentarischen Union (Berlin: Carl Heymanns Verlag, 1928).
- 27.
Arday Lajos and Katona Tamás, 110 év. Az Interparlamentáris Unió Magyar Nemzeti Csoportjának története [110 Years. History of the Hungarian National Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union] (Budapest: Magyar Országgyűlés, 2006) 29.
- 28.
Püski, A Horthy-korszak parlamentje, 244.
- 29.
Berzeviczy Albert, ‘Bevezetés’ [Introduction] in Radisics Elemér (ed.), Válságban van-e a parlamentarizmus? [Is Parliamentarism in Crisis?] (Budapest: Gergely R. Könyvkereskedése, 1930) 8.
- 30.
Albrecht, in Radisics (ed.), Válságban van-e a parlamentarizmus?, 17.
- 31.
Földes, in Radisics (ed.), Válságban van-e a parlamentarizmus?, 26.
- 32.
Gratz, in Radisics (ed.), Válságban van-e a parlamentarizmus?, 31.
- 33.
Haendel, in Radisics (ed.), Válságban van-e a parlamentarizmus?, 43.
- 34.
Kun, in Radisics (ed.), Válságban van-e a parlamentarizmus?, 46.
- 35.
Lakatos, in Radisics (ed.), Válságban van-e a parlamentarizmus?, 50.
- 36.
Ibid., 51.
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Pócza, K. (2019). Closing the Expectation Gap? Crisis of Hungarian Parliamentarism in the Inter-War Period. In: Aerts, R., van Baalen, C., te Velde, H., van der Steen, M., Recker, ML. (eds) The Ideal of Parliament in Europe since 1800. Palgrave Studies in Political History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27705-5_8
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