I determined not to be dissuaded from my conviction in any circumstances, even by a hair's-breadth. I wanted to remain absolutely faithful to what I considered right and necessary at the moment. I felt that I would be fighting against public opinion and that I would be swimming against the stream with little hope of success, but I was nevertheless determined upon energetic action. I used all my powers to bring about the coalition of the Left and Centre, and if this had been impossible, I wanted to unite the elements on the Right for purposes of opposition, in accordance with Tisza's advice, but only on the basis of a programme that was adapted to the new era. In this spirit I negotiated with Karolyi, the Radicals, the Social Democrats and the Labour Party. I met nowhere with opposition on principle, but nevertheless the realization of my schemes progressed slowly.
I also got in touch with Croatian politicians. The manifesto had also raised the Croatian question. If we did not want the sword to declare Croatia's independence on its own account, and if we did not want it to turn against us, we had to take the question in hand ourselves and bring it to a decision as soon as possible. Instead of the irresponsible Government of the moment, a responsible one had to be created, and the Croatians had to be given a free hand to place themselves under the sceptre of the Habsburgs according to their discretion, subject to the condition that they would guarantee for the time being the preservation of the Fiume provision and the protection of
