SMS Szent István
Montecuccoli's plans for the construction of "Szent István" and her sister ships earned the approval of Emperor Franz Joseph I in January 1909, and by April plans for the design, construction, and financing for the battleships had been laid out. For a full year, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to keep the looming construction of the first two battleships a state secret. This did not prevent rumors from circulating across Europe of two dreadnought battleships being constructed in Austria-Hungary. The French Naval Attaché in Vienna complained to Paris in 1910 of extensive secrecy within the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which manifested itself in several ways. Among these were a ban on photography in the Pola, future home port of "Szent István", and near-constant observation by the Austro-Hungarian police.
Hungarian nobility
The First World War brought about the disintegration of Austria-Hungary in 1918. The Aster Revolutiona movement of left-liberal, social democrat and radical peoplepersuaded King Charles IV, to appoint the leader of the opposition, Count Mihály Károlyi, prime minister on 31 October. After the Lower House dissolved itself, Hungary was proclaimed a republic on 16 November. The Hungarian National Council adopted a land reform, determining the maximum size of the estates at and ordering the distribution of the exceeding part among the local peasantry. Károlyi, whose inherited domains had been mortgaged to banks, was the first to implement the reform.