PALACKÝ AT THE SLAV CONGRESS OF 1848
aid. In addition, German nationalists were outraged when the Austrian Ministerial Council on May 8 offered Palacký the portfolio of education. Palacký refused the appointment, but the news of the offer, which coincided with the announcement of the Slav Congress, bought furious protests in the Viennese press. Minister-President Franz von Pillersdorff was accused of patronizing the congress plans and of flirting with the politically ambitious Slavs.9
Despite the chorus of denunciation of Palacký and the Slavs in Vienna, Frankfurt, and Pest, Palacký himself continued to work behind the scenes in Prague to bridge the widening gap of mistrust between Czechs and Poles, which was becoming a major obstacle to the congress plans. Palacký introduced Prince Leon Sapieha (a Galician magnate and Prince Adam Czartoryski’s brother-in-law) to the Bohemian nobleman, Count J.M. Thun, the titular head of the Preparatory Committee. By his own account, Sapieha left Prague with every intention of returning to attend the congress, as in fact he did. He was convinced that the Czech leaders wanted nothing to do with either Russia or with Russian-inspired Pan-Slavism.10
The rules and procedures formulated by the Preparatory Committee divided the congress into three regional/national sections: 1) Czechs and Slovaks; 2) Poles and Ukrainians (later joined by two Russians, no section having been allotted for them); and 3) South Slavs. Each section would constitute itself, choose its own officers, and designate sixteen representatives, who, with the designees from the other sections, would comprise the Plenary Committee. In addition, each section would nominate a candidate for the presidency. Just before the congress opened, the Plenary Committee would elect the president from among the three nominees, the other two becoming vice presidents.11 The three candidates were: Prince Jerzy Lubomirski (Polish-Ukrainian section); Stanko Vraz (the Slovene Illyrian member of the South Slav section; it should be noted that Ljudevit Gaj did not attend); and Palacký (Czecho-Slovak section). On June 1 the Plenary Committee met and unanimously elected Palacky to preside over the congress. The only other Slav in Prague who rivaled Palacký in stature and respect as a likely candidate for president was the ethnographer Šafařík. Actually, the presidency was first earmarked for Šafařík, whose “extensive knowledge of all Slavic idioms” uniquely qualified him for the position; but when he declined, Palacký reluctantly (by his own account) accepted the office.12 Be this as it may, Šafařík chaired the Czecho-Slovak section, where his contribution to the deliberations was as great as Palacký’s.
