THE REACTION OF THE LIBERAL CIRCLES OF ENGLAND AT THE FORMATION OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY IN THE COVERAGE OF THE NEWSPAPER “THE MORNING POST” (1867)

Abstract

The reaction of the liberal circles of England to the formation of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary in 1867 is considered. The material, on which the study is based, was the Bri- tish newspaper “The Morning Post”, which expressed the interests of the middle class of the bourgeoisie and was the so-called “megaphone” of the Liberal party of Great Britain. Analysis of the newspaper material showed that in the British newspaper the most often raised and considered Austria-Hungary issues are the following: 1) the personality of Emperor Franz Joseph I; 2) the reorganization of the political system of Austria-Hungary on the basis of liberal laws; 3) the adoption of the Constitution of 1867 and the subsequent domestic changes. The study of the journalistic material led to the conclusion that the British liberals met very positively the formation of Austria-Hungary, because in its original form the reforms carried out by the Austrian government were a vivid example of the liberal ideology defended by the liberal community of Great Britain. Nevertheless, the emotionally expressive tone of newspaper articles shows that British liberals, having accepted the changes taking place in Austria-Hungary positively, were not always able to give an objective assessment of what was happening, so the newspaper often does not talk about the real problems of Austrian society.