Page - 148 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

148 chapter 4 divisiondidnot justweaken theworkers’movementof themonarchy; it also ledtotenserelationshipsbetweentheSlavicpartiesandtheGerman-Austrian party,withthelatterattemptingtopreserveitsprivilegedposition.Sufficeit to say, this state of affairswasnot beneficial to resolving thenational question. While the parties pushed it into the background, it becamemanifest in the trade-unionmovement,despitethefactthattheunionswereorganisedaccord- ing to trades rather than the national principle.64 Subsequent congresses of the Second International in Amsterdam (1904), Stuttgart (1907) and Copen- hagen (1910) sidedwith the sdap leadership in defending centralism in the labourmovement. Regardless, thedisintegrationprocess in the tradeunions deepened.65 Fearingthatnationalquarrelsmighterupt intotheopenandconsequently lead to a terminal breakdownof alreadyweak organisational structures, the sdapleadershipmadethelastattempt inthehistoryof themonarchytodraft a complex national programme.66 This took place at the congress in Bern from24–29September1899.ThesdapleadershipandtheSloveniansocialists presentedtwodrafts todelegates.The leadershipproposedtogrant territorial autonomy,butpreserveacentralisedstate,whereastheSloveniandraftdeman- ded cultural autonomy according to the territorial principle.67 The adopted programmereconciledbothpositionsinthatitconcedednationalandcultural autonomyaccordingtotheterritorialprinciple,yetwithintheframeworkofa federalstate. Infact, thedecisiontoadoptthisprinciplewassynonymouswith sacrificingtherightofnations toself-determinationtopreserveunityandthe inviolabilityof imperialborders.Theresolutiondidnotdefinetheauthorityof localparliamentsandstatecouncilmoreclosely,anditwasdifficulttoconclude joint representation in the state council, andbiannual congresses. See sdap 1897, p. 7; Wasilewski 1907,p.71. 64 Atthe1896tradeunioncongress, theCzechsdemandedanindependentsecretariatwith headquarters inPrague.Althoughtheirdemandwasrejectedat the time,national trade unionswereoperatinginCzechiaandMoraviaasearlyas1906.CompareMommsen1963, p.396. 65 CompareZimmermann1976,p.373. 66 It isdiscussedindetail inKonrad1977,pp. 198–200. 67 See Berchtold 1967, p. 145; sdap 1899, p. 75; and Kelles-Krauz 1903, p. 276. According to Rauscher, ‘The demand to replace the old crown landswith nationally demarcated, autonomousadministrativeunitsandtransformAustriaintoademocraticfederativestate ofnationalitieswasnotnew.Norwas the rejectionof anofficial language. Theconcept of ethnic federalismoriginated from the time of the 1848–9 revolution.Moreover, this decidedly moderate political programmemeant that Austrian Social Democracy was affirmativeoftheimperialconcept’ (ourtranslation)–Rauscher1995pp.46–7.