Stjepan Radić\u27s Sympathiser from the Esplanade Hotel A Contribution to a Political Biography of the Reverend Dr. Ljudevit Kežman (1927-28)

Autor je na temelju suvremenoga tiska rekonstruirao tijek sukoba između dr. Lj. Kežmana i njegovih istomišljenika iz redova Hrvatskoga seljačkog kluba s vodstvom Hrvatske seljačke stranke, koji se odigrao posljednih tjedana prosinca 1927. i prvih dana 1928. godine. Iako su stranačke i ostale novine s područja Kraljevine SHS (Zagreb, Beograd, Sarajevo i Ljubljana) donosile senzacionalističke vijesti o povodima nezadovoljstvu u Radićevoj stranci, sukob je vrlo brzo zataškan te javnost nikada nije saznala punu istinu o njegovim stvarnim uzrocima.The Catholic priest and politician Dr. Ljudevit (Lujo) Kežman was a secretary of the main committee of the Croatian Peasant Party (CPP) between 1919 and 1927. Although he was considered to be one of the closest associates of Stjepan Radić, president of CPP, it was him who — in the second half of 1927 — opposed certain moves made by the party leadership. Scarce and sometimes vague information in various party\u27s and non-party\u27s newspapers (in the main centres of the then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, i.e. the cities of Zagreb, Belgrade, Ljubljana and Sarajevo) suggests that Dr. Kežman, together with certain party’s sympathisers, attempted to influence Stjepan Radić to make certain essential political changes in the leadership of the CPP. Although the then newspaper stories were most sensational, the dispute was solved in only several days, but the public never learned about the true reasons behind it. Still, behind the political scenes, it was noted that Radić — for the first time in his years-long political career — somewhat yielded to the demands of the malcontents within his party. After the assassination and the tragic death of Stjepan Radić’s (1928) Dr. Kežman left his homeland and continued with his political activities throughout Europe. He associated himself with various emigrant groups, ranging from the extreme left (communists) to the Ustaša Movement of Dr. Ante Pavelić