A Contribution to the Political Agency of Priests Members of Party of Rights. Juraj Žerjavić as Member of Croatian Parliament (1897-1902)

Od počeka 1880-ih među sve brojnijim sljedbenicima i članovima Stranke prava istaknuto mjesto pripadalo je katoličkim svećenicima. Među župnicima koji pristupaju Stranci prava isticao se Juraj Žerjavić, župnik u Mariji Bistrici koji od početka 1890-ih zauzima i istaknuti položaj u stranci. Iako se čvršća povezanost između Jurja Žerjavića i Stranke prava do sada na osnovu dokumenata i onodobnog tiska pratila od sredine 1880-ih., njegove prve kontakte sa Strankom prava, odnosno s Eugenom Kvaternikom pomičemo još u vrijeme kada se kao bogoslov u Rimu 1867. godine dopisivao s potonjim. Nakon raskola Stranke prava 1895. Žerjavić ostaje uz maticu Stranke prava koja dobiva naziv domovinaši. Premda je o Žerjaviću u dosadašnjoj literaturi bilo govora, ovaj rad smjera prvenstveno razjasniti njegovo saborsko djelovanje, na osnovu Stenografičkih zapisnika sabora, a posljedično prikazati djelovanje domovinaša u sabornici. U radu je prvo predstavljena izborna djelatnost Udružene opozicije, koje je i Žerjavić bio član preko domovinaša, te njihov proglas biračima. Potom su na osnovu onodobne periodike raščlanjeni saborski izbori iz 1897. godine na kojima je Žerjavić izabran u izbornom kotaru s biralištem u Krapini. U središtu istraživanja je djelovanje svećenika, njihova disperzija unutar različitih političkih opcija te različiti vidovi djelatnosti prije i tijekom samih izbora. Rezultati izbora su jasan dokaz nastavka trenda, koji je počeo 1880-ih, podrške svećenika pravaškoj državno-pravnoj ideji i radikalnoj kritici režima. Naime, među 44 kandidata Udružene opozicije bilo je 14 svećenika što je u profesionalnoj strukturi kandidata činilo 31%. Da je obzoraško-domovinaška koalicija uživala veliku podršku svećenstva, uz rezultate saborskih izbora 1897. na kojima je ukupno izabrano sedam katoličkih svećenika među kojima dvojica obzoraša i trojica domovinaša, potvrđivao je i oporbeni tisak koji je nakon izbora upućivao pohvale svećenstvu te isticao da Udružena opozicija dobar izborni rezultat duguje katoličkom kleru. Glavni dio članka se odnosi na Žerjavićev parlamentarni rad koji je u najvećoj mjeri bio prožet političkim temama. Žerjavić je tijekom svoga saborskog mandata dosljedno zastupao gledište da je uzrok gospodarskih i svih drugih problema hrvatskog naroda državnopravni položaj Hrvatske utvrđen Nagodbom te da ni na kojem planu napredak i preporod nije moguć dok se Hrvatska politički ne oslobodi.From the beginning of the 1880s, a distinguished place among more and more numerous members of the Party of Right belonged to Catholic priests. Among parish priests which became members of the Party of Right, Juraj Žerjavić, parish priest in Marija Bistrica, distinguished himself. He played also an important role in the Party from the early 1890s. Even though stronger connection between Juraj Žerjavić and the Party of Right was discussed in historiography on the basis of extant sources as starting from the mid-1880s, his first contacts with the Party, that is with Eugen Kvaternik, may be moved as early as 1867, when he was a student of theology in Rome and corresponded with Kvaternik. After the division of the Party of Right in 1895, Žerjavić remained with the core of the Party, which became to be called as “Patriots” (domovinaši). Even though Žerjavić was discussed in previous scholarship, this article concentrates on explaining his agency in the Croatian Parliament, on the basis of Stenographic minutes; it will also present agency of the Patriots in the Parliament. In the article, it is first presented electoral agency of United opposition, whose member was Žerjavić via the Patriots, and its announcement to the electors. Then, Parliamentary elections of 1897, in which was Žerjavić elected in the electoral district of Krapina, are analysed on the basis of periodicals. In the centre of research is agency of priests, their dispersion among different political options and different aspects of their activity before and during the elections. The results of the elections are clear indicator of continuity of trend, started in the 1880s, that priests provide support to political and legal ideas of the Party of Right and to radical criticism of the regime. Namely, among 44 candidates of the United opposition were 14 priests, which amount to 31% in the professional structure of the candidates. Great support of the clergy for the United opposition is visible, besides the fact that in the 1897 elections was elected seven priests on its list, from the confirmations of oppositional press, who applauded clergy after the elections and stressed that United opposition had good electoral result, based on the support of Catholic clergy. The main part of the article refers to Žerjavić’s parliamentary agency, which was to the greatest extent dedicated to political themes. During his parliamentary mandate, he was constant in advocating the view that cause for economic and all other problems of Croatian people laid in the political position of Croatia as defined in the Hungaro-Croatian compromisse and that progress and national renaissance would not be possible if Croatia would not be liberated before