Name Karel Sviha Died June 29, 1937 | Role Politician | |
Karel Sviha (June 11, 1877 in Novy Bydzov - June 29, 1937 in Prague) was a Czech politician in Austria-Hungary.
Sviha worked as a judge in Zamberk and was a member of the Czech National Social Party. In 1907 he was elected to the provincial parliament of Bohemia, and in 1907 to the Reichsrat (Imperial Council of Austria-Hungary) where he stayed until 1914. In 1911 he became the leader of the party's group in the parliament. In this role he supported pro-Austrian politics. Sviha was author of several political and economical brochures.
On April 8, 1911 a lawyer named Pastika informed Josef Anyz, the editor-in-chief of the Prague newspaper Narodni listy, that Sviha was a secret collaborator with the police in Prague, had been assigned the cover name "Wiener", and was being paid 800 krones per month. The newspaper was closely associated with the Young Czech Party; since the party at the time negotiated an election coalition with the National Socialists this information was not published.
In 1914 the political situation had changed and on March 4, 1914 the newspaper published the accusation; this started a fierce political outcry against the "traitor of the nation", similar to the earlier campaign against Karel Sabina. Sviha admitted contacts with police officer Klima but denied that he was a police informer. He gave up his parliamentary seat and sued the newspaper. During the court case, in May 1914, Sviha was not able to prove his innocence and, thoroughly disgraced, left politics. Among the few supporters of Sviha was Tomas Masaryk who later he admitted he was mistaken.
The affair left a lasting trace in the Czech language: the words prusvih (to be in a pickle) and prosvihnout (to miss an opportunity) derive from Sviha's surname.
Later, Sviha worked in a patent office in Prague and, after the war, as a lawyer for Jindrich Waldes' button factory. He died, forgotten, in 1937.
After the creation of Czechoslovakia (1918) the Prague police archive was opened and investigated. It was discovered that Sviha used police officers to keep contact with Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (then successor of the ruling monarch), for whom he elaborated reports and political analysis. This work had been paid from police funds.