From Political History of Molve’s Podravina in the Inter-War Period

Izbori nakon stvaranja Kraljevine SHS te u cijelom međuratnom razdoblju pokazali su da je narod molvarske Podravine većinski podržavao Hrvatsku seljačku stranku i da ostale stranke na tom području nisu imale podršku znatnijeg dijela stanovništva. Režimske stranke djelovale su uz podršku birokracije i srpskog pučanstva, uzdajući se u pomoć žandara koji su provođenjem represije povećavali nezadovoljstvo seljaka. Nakon što je Radić učlanio stranku u Seljačku internacionalu, napuštaju ga najutjecajniji stariji podravski kadrovi, a popularnost HSS-a u Podravini pala je nakon što je Radić na državnoj razini ušao u koaliciju s radikalima. Zbog toga je na izborima 1927. godine HSS dobio najmanji broj glasova u cijelom međuratnom razdoblju. Nakon parlamentarnih izbora 1931. u Podravini se počinju organizirati ogranci režimskog JRSD-a koji je bio veoma nepopularan među narodom. Velike neprilike vlastima su stvarali pripadnici ustaške organizacije, što je bilo osobito izraženo na pograničnim područjima zbog blizine logora Janka-pusta u Mađarskoj. Na izborima 1935. režimske su snage potpuno poražene, a popularnost HSS-a i opozicijskih snaga sve se više osjećala. Stvaranjem ogranaka HSS-ovih asocijacija opozicijske su snage sve više gubile utjecaj, čime je HSS preuzimao kontrolu nad radom lokalne uprave. Izbori 1938. dokazali su potpunu premoć HSS-a u Podravini. Najistaknutiji političar u Molvama u međuratnom razdoblju bio je Franjo Novaković. On se krajem dvadesetih godina istaknuo kao lider HSS-a tamošnjeg kotara, koji 1935. pobjeđuje na parlamentarnim izborima noseći listu opozicije u kotaru Đurđevac.After the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes had been created, the elections and the entire inter-war period showed how the local population of Molve’s Podravina supported and voted for Croatian Peasants’ Party- HSS, leaving very little voters of the local population for any other political party. Regime-supported parties were active with local support of bureaucracy and ethic Serbs, gendarme police and their repression with rising dissatisfaction of the peasants. After its leader Radić arranged the admittance of the Croatian Peasants Party into the umbrella Peasants’ International, his most devoted and most influential members from Podravina leave Radić. Consequently, popularity of the Party dropped in Podravina region, after Radić on national level entered a coalition with radicals. This was the reason why in 1927 elections, HSS won the least votes in the entire inter-war period. After the 1931 parliamentary election, Podravina saw the formation of regime party JRSD, very unpopular with the folk. Authorities had trouble with members of the Ustashe, which was particularly disturbing in border regions, close to Ustashe paramilitary camp, located in Janka-Puszta in the neighboring Hungary. After the 1935 elections, regime parties were completely wiped out and popularity of the Peasants’ and other opposition parties was almost palpable. HSS’ branches were multiplying, which in turn weakened the influence of the rest of opposition and strengthened HSS, which was slowly taking over the local administration. 1938 elections showed full supremacy of the Peasants’ Party in Podravina. In Molve, in the inter-war period, the most influential politician was Franjo Novaković, who in the late 1920s distinguished himself as the HSS leader in the region, winning the 1935 parliamentary elections as the head of the opposition in Đurđevac county