Eduard Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe
Count Eduard Taaffe ( born February 24, 1833 in Vienna, † November 29, 1895 in Ellischau, Bohemia ) was an Austrian statesman, conservative social reformer, Prime Minister Cisleithania, multiple ministers and state president in Salzburg, governor in Austria above the Enns and later governor of Tyrol. His family was of Irish origin and uradeliger had in the Peerage of Ireland the title of Viscount Taaffe of Corren and Baron of Ballymote.
Life
Count Taaffe ( since 1873, after the death of his elder brother Charles, also 11 Viscount Taaffe ) was a childhood friend of Emperor Franz Joseph I.. Taaffe studied law at the University of Vienna. Due to the position of trust with the Emperor he was at age 28, in 1861, Statthaltereirat and head of the district authority in Prague, 1863 Country President ( state leader ) in the Crown Land Salzburg and was in the January / February 1867 governor ( state leader ) in the Crown Land Austria above the Enns.
In the tenure of Prime Minister Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust, who negotiated the Austro-Hungarian Compromise at this time and completed, the emperor appointed him in February 1867 Head of the Administrative Department and appointed him in March for the Minister of the Interior.
Subsequently, he was deputy to the Prime Minister Prince Karl of Auersperg appointed to the end of 1867 and at the same time entrusted with the agendas for national defense and public security. After leaving Auerspergs the emperor appointed him on September 24, 1868 for kk Prime Minister and Minister of Defence land.
Since he and his intention to meet the demands of the non-German nationalities better, remained in the minority in the so-called civil Ministry, he sought to be relieved, which gave him the Emperor on 15 January 1870. On April 12, 1870, the emperor appointed him in the appointed that day to the Minister of the Interior Ministry Potocki and entrusted him with the management of the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry Potocki was dismissed in February 1871.
From May 1871 to June 1879 Taaffe was then k.k. Governor ( state leader ) in the Crown Land Tirol. During this time he was in April 1878 by Kaiser with the highest decoration of the monarchy, the Order of the Golden Fleece Award. On August 12, 1879, he was the emperor again to kk Appointed Prime Minister and served until November 11, 1893.
In 1862 he married the Hungarian aristocrat Irma Csáky de Körösszegy et Adorjan, with whom he had four daughters and son, Henry Taaffe. His daughter Marie Amalie married in 1889 Max von Coudenhove.
Work
The appeal Eduard Taaffe brought a fundamental change of policy. He meant the end of the political supremacy of the Liberals, the government by lawyers and entrepreneurs. Taaffe pursued a strictly monarchical - conservative course.
1882 continued the Imperial Council on its proposal, the census limit ( minimum control power) for the turnout from ten to five guilders down, whereby the industrial middle class the right to vote was given ( so-called five- Gulden- men). Thus his parliamentary base was strengthened.
In economic policy, joined the dominance of market competition and protectionism in place. Thus reinforced, the Taaffe government tariff protection for the Austrian industry. She went on the principle of freedom of trade and introduced qualifications for Handicraft Industry.
In social policy, a commercial inspection law was created in 1883, after which the working conditions were to control in the company. Due to the commercial law amendment in 1885, the factory work for youth under the age of 14 was banned, those up to 16 years were not allowed to be used for heavy work. For these, as for women night work was forbidden. The maximum working day was fixed at eleven hours. The truck system - ie the payment of goods - was prohibited, technical and sanitary facilities were required, wage policy and welfare measures for maternity cases has been adopted.
1887 accident insurance law was passed, which entered into force in 1889. 1888 was followed by the Insurance Act. Thus Austria participated in the labor legislation in Europe a leading role. All these reforms were later responsible planned by Emil Steinbach as a leading employee and finance minister under Taaffe and carried out.
The ideological background for Taaffe's policy was the Christian social doctrine, as it was articulated mainly by Karl von Vogelsang. This declined pure income maximization and put solidarity and social responsibility in the center of his considerations.
Freedom of the press was severely restricted under Taaffe. He built up a police-state surveillance system, and introduced in 1884 tougher laws against the workers' movement.
Through a language decree of 1880, which provided for the (additional) use of the Czech official language in the majority of German territories of Bohemia, the Czechs made it easier Taaffe to achieve civil service posts. But his compensation negotiations with the Czechs in January 1890 in Vienna failed due to the resistance of the nationalist party of the Young Czechs.
In October 1893 he presented, the obstructionist policies of the long-established parliamentary parties weary of the draft election law change for election to the Imperial Parliament before, which would have meant the introduction of universal, but not the same ( male) suffrage. The failure of the bill, Emperor Franz Joseph I as an opportunity to relieve Taaffe as Prime Minister. His successor Kasimir Felix Badeni extended in 1897, defusing begun by Taaffe speech contrasts in Cisleithania their bathing niche language decree, which also caused serious conflicts, as the Germans Cisleithania did not want to give up their privileges.