Obraz proměny politika ve státníka
A picture of the transformation of a politician into a statesman

Summary/Abstract: Broklová, Eva: Antonín Švehla: Tvůrce politického systému. Prague: Academia, 2017,527 pp., ISBN 978-80-200-2711-5. According to the reviewers, the book "Antonín Švehla: The creator of the political system" surpasses all biographical works on Švehla written so far; however, it is also a proof of difficulties one encounters when attempting to put together Švehla’s historical picture. Antonín Švehla (1873–1933), a long-time chairman of the Agrarian Party and the Prime Minister of the Czechoslovak government in the 1920s, was living politics, but he was a born practitioner. He did not feel any need to theoretically reflect politics or his actions, and he did not leave any personal archive, which makes the work of historians quite difficult. Broklová wrote a political biography, based on broad knowledge of sources, set into an extensive frame, and focused on Švehla’s role in the formation and functioning of the political system of the first Czechoslovak Republic; however, the work also inspires the reader to think about the political diversity in those days, the Castle’s place in the political system, the work and management of governments, the formation of coalitions, and the opposition. It is a pity that the authoress did not dare use a more psychological approach which historical biographies generally require.

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