Height of Political Influence
In September 1874, seven newly elected Young Czech deputies defied the Old Czech boycott and took their seats in the Diet. A few months later, the founding congress of the Young Czech Party proclaimed its independence and issued a wide-ranging agenda that differed substantially from its predecessor.
After eight years (1871–79) of boycotting the Reichsrat in protest against the collapse of a negotiated agreement with Emperor Franz Joseph, the Young Czech chose to compromise. Their reentry into legislative politics marked the end of German Reichsrat majority. The Young Czechs held 85 to 87 of the 425 seats in the Reichsrat by 1900.
The supporters of the Young Czechs came from petty tradespeople, lawyers, progressive intellectuals, teachers and university students, some leaders in the Sokol gymnastic organization and middling farmers hurt by Hungarian and North American competition. Their followers believed in the liberal approach to the nationalist program prescribed by the Young Czechs rather than the more conservative approach of the Old Czechs.
In 1891, the end of the Old Czech predominance in Czech politics helped to disrupt the conservative “iron ring” parliamentary coalition with whose help Count Taaffe had governed since 1879, and marks the beginning of the modern era of Czech political parties.
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