Home » News » One of the most prominent figures in Hungarian politics killed himself

One of the most prominent figures in Hungarian politics killed himself

It can be said without any exaggeration that Count István Széchenyi is one of, if not the greatest in the history of Hungarian politics. Without his ideas, influence and practical activities, modern Hungary does not exist, among other things, he implemented reforms in the fields of the Hungarian economy, transport, foreign policy and sports, at has an effect to this day.

Story he was a real polymath, a real statesman, writer, economist and he was even the minister of transport in the government of Batthány for a short time. His name is associated with projects from the time of the reformation, such as the establishment of the National Casino, the establishment of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the creation of the Lánchíd joint-stock company, the Óbuda Shipyard, the establishment of Balaton steamboats, the management of the Iron Gate, flood relief in the Tisza region, modern wine production, sugar production, the development of the national railway, and even the first theater – almost in one person he moved a part of Hungarian from feudalism to bourgeois times.

Széchenyi’s intellectual works also had a fundamental impact on the thinking of the time and the development of political ideas, outstanding works such as Credit, the World or the Stadium can be linked to his name, which also strengthened the Hungarian bourgeois opinion. His great opponent was Lajos Kossuth, who was a supporter of revolutionary, far-reaching changes, while Széchenyi supported gradual reforms, called “progress on respect”.

Without Széchenyi, today’s Hungary does not exist and he is one of the few historical figures who is properly respected among historical figures, regardless of his political side, almost -everyone recognizes the work of the old nobles. However, many people may not know that, despite his greatness, the end of his life was full of mental illness, anxiety and tragedy.

Széchenyi stayed in the sanatorium in Döbling from the fall of 1848, after he had a strange breakdown in August and attempted suicide in early September, throwing himself into the Danube from a bridge. In addition, behind the fall of the nobility there was also the fear of the country, and this also shows his true Hungarianness.

His old fear, the essence of the political dispute with Kossuth, was behind his downfall: Széchenyi was a very cautious reformer, he thought it important to further express his loyalty to the court on all positive ideas, and he had a special idea too. good relationship with Chancellor Metternich.

Széchenyi also criticized Kossuth, calling him impatient and calling his demands revolutionary in tone, and he feared that Kossuth’s policy would lead to anti-court revolt and bloodshed, which would lead to ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​failure and collapse of the cause of the reforms, which the count wanted to avoid completely.

Despite everything, Széchenyi positively accepted the revolution of 15 March 1848, he also called Kossut a genius at the time, and even participated as Minister of Transport in a government Batthány was founded on March 23. His opponents began to vehemently criticize, Productivity on renewing his argument, he blamed Kossuth as well as himself for the armed conflict: this self-destruction, and the fear of the death of the country, completely consumed his health.

On September 4, 1848, he finally resigned and went to Döbling, near Vienna, where he tried to commit suicide again on the way, but luckily he finished in a sanatorium, where his condition greatly improved and he resumed his literary work. After the war of independence was defeated, several people sought Széchenyi here, they also asked him for political guidance, and he himself took part in politics, often criticizing Bach’s neo-absolutist system.

In 1859, he published a political pamphlet called Ein Blick, which was extremely critical of Bach’s system, mocking it, which eventually led to the downfall of that system. As a result, Széchenyi’s house was searched in 1860, his writings were confiscated and he was even threatened with imprisonment, which led to the rapid decline of his state.

The tragic day came on April 8, 1860: at dawn, he turned the pistol on himself and killed himself, leaving a great void in politics. This day should go down in our history books as a day of mourning, we lost one of the greatest Hungarians.

Source: Rubicon

2024-08-11 00:03:13


#prominent #figures #Hungarian #politics #killed

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.