Temporary National Representation

The Temporary National Representation was set up primarily to prepare for the election of the Constituent Assembly according to the 1917 Corfu Declaration of the government of the Kingdom of Serbia and the Yugoslav Committee on the creation of a common state of the South Slavs after the First World War.

While the Constituent Assembly was to determine the constitution of the new country, the work of the Temporary National Representation was affected by the political struggle of those for and against higher levels of state administrative centralisation.

The proponents of greater centralisation successfully used the period of work of the interim parliament to gain an advantage over other designs for the constitution of the country.

In his proclamation, Regent Alexander promised a provisional parliament that would be set up by agreement of the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs as the governing body in the former Austro-Hungarian lands and representatives of Serbia.

Regardless of the agreement, on 20 December, Regent Alexander appointed Stojan Protić (People's Radical Party, NRS) the prime minister.

The interim parliament was formally established as the Temporary National Representation (Privremeno narodno predstavništvo, PNP) by Regent Alexander's decree of 24 February 1919.

[10] According to the historian Ivo Banac, the delay was intended to ensure that the government was free to implement decisions designed to centralise the country without interference from the parliament.

The government contested the PNP's right to enact any legislation, except on the procedure of election of the Constituent Assembly and determination of its agenda.

[3] The representatives of former Austro-Hungarian lands (except Vojvodina) were formally appointed by special committees and their mandates confirmed by the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in Zagreb, and equivalent bodies established in Split and Sarajevo for Dalmatia and for Bosnia and Herzegovina, respectively.

[6] Slovenia was granted 32 delegates to the PNP, Croatia-Slavonia (jointly with the city of Rijeka and the region of Međimurje) had 60, Istria had 4, Dalmatia had 12, and Bosnia and Herzegovina had 32.

The NRS also advocated centralisation but, unlike the DS, thought that Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes should be allowed to continue to develop their national and cultural identities separately.

The coalition began reversing repressive measures previously introduced against the HPSS and drafted a compromise proposed constitution.

The lack of support resulted from rumours spread by the DS claiming that the Croatian Committee and foreign powers were colluding against the country, and a wave of strikes led by the communists.

[15] Regent Alexander then appointed Milenko Radomar Vesnić (NRS) as prime minister, tasking him with forming a government with the DS.

[8] The PNP worked in the circumstances where Pribićević, in his role of a government minister, was issuing administrative regulations, dismissing and hiring officials.

Conversely, Pribićević opposed any arrangement and repeatedly urged Protić to deploy the army to Croatia to quell government opposition.

Most significantly, the rules of order ignored the demand by the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs that the constitution be adopted by two-thirds majority.