Háromszéki virilisek és a törvényhatósági bizottság döntéshozatali mechanizmusa = The greatest taxpayers and the decision-making mechanisms in the municipal committee of Háromszék County

Nagy, Botond (2025) Háromszéki virilisek és a törvényhatósági bizottság döntéshozatali mechanizmusa = The greatest taxpayers and the decision-making mechanisms in the municipal committee of Háromszék County. CERTAMEN XIII, 13. pp. 221-248. ISSN 2393-4328

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Abstract

During the existence of the institution of virilism (of the greatest taxpayers) in Háromszék County three distinct periods can be clearly identified based on the decision-making mechanisms of the Municipal Committee. Following the introduction of the system, the main forum of mid-level public administration and local autonomy saw its role primarily in influencing legislation, while also striving to balance the decisions of local authorities. During the 25 years of Lord Lieutenant József Potsa’s mandate, financial control over the communes intensified to a degree and in a manner that was unparalleled in neighbouring counties. At the same time, the general meeting of the county practically excluded itself from the sensitive political debates concerning the relationship between Austria and Hungary, or the person of the sovereign. This occurred within a local compromise orchestrated by the Lord Lieutenant: in exchange for abandoning their ambitions to influence national political life, members of the county’s Municipal Committee received protection for their personal financial interests. In terms of material interests, there were no significant differences between those who gained membership as the greatest taxpayers and those who were elected – although a detailed analysis of the latter group has not yet been fully completed. There was little sign of insurmountable class divisions in this environment, and certainly no overt conflict between the two groups; the behavioural patterns of the members of the Municipal Committee were nearly identical, regardless of the basis on which they acquired their mandates. However, by the turn of the century, the waves of national politics reached even this remote corner of the country, and cracks began to appear in the seemingly stable structure. Following the death of the paternalistic Lord Lieutenant, clear partisan divisions emerged in the county’s general assemblies. By then, the members of the council no longer feared that their incomes would be diminished by measures of local authorities – even though the very mechanism that could have done so, namely supplementary communal taxation, was becoming a widespread source of revenue generation at that time. This apparent contradiction can be resolved by noting that local authorities had adapted to the strict supervision of the previous decades. And although their annual expenditures continued to rise, they refrained from taking excessive steps to cover these costs.

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