Jókai Mór, a profi politikus?
Mór Jókai, a Professional Politician?

Summary/Abstract: Mór Jókai (1825–1904) was the most widely known Hungarian writer in the second half of the 19th century, but he also worked as a journalist and, for 32 years, as a member of parliament. This short paper analyzes the latter, his participation in public life from the perspective of the emergence of modern politics and the professional politician (M. Weber). The main sources the study relies on are his political speeches, letters and photographs. According to the author, Jókai belonged to the “archaic” type of professional politicians, who devoted himself to politics, instead of earning a living from it, as the documents related to his finances also show. Jókai was a devoted politician who served the “sacred causes” of public life (while being indifferent to the petty interests) and was even willing to make financial sacrifices for the success of these. He was one of the few long-serving representatives in the National Assembly, who did understand how modern politics worked and learned how to make use of its tools. For example, he used photographs to shape his public image and consciously resorted to various campaign tricks during the elections, even utilized his popularity as a writer for the benefit of his party.

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