Page - 342 - in Österreich-Ungarns imperiale Herausforderungen - Nationalismen und Rivalitäten im Habsburgerreich um 1900

© 2020, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847110606 – ISBN E-Lib: 9783737010603 Gergely was not alone among the sevenpermanent professors (in 1918) to hold important social and political positons beyond the walls of the school. Szatm#r,however,wasrelativelyclosetoMaramures‚,aneighboringcounty,and this proximity certainly made his co-optation swifter. For example, his two colleagueswho came to SighetulMarmat‚iei fromHungary proper were never invitedtoplaysimilarrolesinanylocalassociation,whilehisfellowSzatm#rian, J#nosL#nyialsogotelectedtothepermanentcommitteeofthecountyandtothe citycouncil.28 Adifferent pattern is, however, discernible among themorenumerous sec- ondary education teachers, whose geographic originwasmoremixed, too.Of seventeenteachersin1918only twowereoflocalorigin,andthreewerefromthe neighboring counties. Although themost prestigious among themwas P8ter Juh#sz,borninSighetulMarmat‚iei in1873,practicallyall theothersfoundtheir way into localprofessional, cultural, andeconomicassociations, andsixoutof theeightwhoheldpoliticalpositionswere fromwithout thecounty.29 But firmcontrol over the local institutionswas only one factor behind this peculiarpowercontext,anditwouldhavebeeninsufficientalonetopreservethe dominant roleof thenoble clans. Itwas the supportof the central government thatwasnecessary for theperpetuationoftheirdominance,andtheMaramures‚ elite, just like their counterparts in other counties of the region that is today Karpatho-Ukraine, used a strategy that resembled colonial relations. It was a consciousstrategy,basedondetaching–asmuchasitwaspossible–local from nationalpolitics.Atthenationallevelthelocalelitethatwascapabletodeliverthe votes fromtheregion,alwaysaligned itselfwiththegoverningparty, regardless ofwhateveritspoliticalorientationwas.Thelocaleliteusually invitedoneortwo prominentpoliticians,prospectiveministersorstatesecretaries,torepresentthe SighetulMarmat‚iei constituency,while theotherMembers ofParliamentwere selected from the local noble families. The Lord Lieutenant, nominally the representative of the government also always had local roots, and in 1917 the local newspaper explicitly called it a lasting tradition that all previousgovern- ments observed.30Romanianshada firmpositionwithin this settlement. They were usually eligible for the role ofMembers of Parliament aligned with the 28 Am#ramarosszigetiref.Lyceumjogakad8mia,fo˝gimn#zium8sintern#tus8rtes&to˝jeaz1916– 17-es tan8vro˝l, M#ramaroszsiget 1917; Am#ramarosszigeti ref. Lyceum jogakad8mia, fo˝- gimn#zium 8s intern#tus 8rtes&to˝je az 1917–1918-as tan8vro˝l, M#ramarossziget 1918; A m#ramarosszigeti ref. Lyceum jogakad8mia, fo˝gimn#zium 8s intern#tus 8rtes&to˝je 1918– 1919-es tan8vro˝l,M#ramarossziget1919. 29 A m#ramarosszigeti ref. Lyceum jogakad8mia, fo˝gimn#zium 8s intern#tus 8rtes&to˝je az 1917–1918-as tan8vro˝l. 30 Cieger,Prdekek8sstrat8gi#k(seenote20),p. 90,100;Azfflj fo˝isp#nM#ramarosszigeten, in: M#ramaros (22 July1917)58.p. 1. GáborEgry342