Editing Corfu Declaration (section)

==Discussions at Corfu==
[[File:NikolaPasic--balkancockpitpol00pric_0191.png|thumb|left|upright|alt=Photograph of Serbian prime minister Nikola Pašić |[[Serbian Prime Minister|Serbian prime minister]] [[Nikola Pašić]] negotiated the Corfu Declaration with the [[Yugoslav Committee]].]]
The May Declaration was issued while the Triple Entente was still looking for ways to achieve a [[separate peace]] with Austria-Hungary and thereby detach it from Germany. This presented a problem for the Serbian government exiled on Corfu. It increased the risk of a trialist solution for the Habsburg South Slavs if a separate peace treaty materialised, preventing the fulfillment of Serbia's war objectives.{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2003a|p=33}} Lacking strong [[Russian Empire|Russian]] diplomatic backing since the [[February Revolution]], Serbian prime minister [[Nikola Pašić]] therefore felt compelled to come to an arrangement with the Yugoslav Committee.{{sfn|Banac|1984|p=123}}

The Yugoslav Committee was also placed under pressure. It claimed to speak on behalf of South Slavs within Austria-Hungary, but was also openly looking after its own interests. The May Declaration presented a challenge to the Yugoslav Committee and the government of Serbia by depriving them of initiative in the South Slavic unification process. This led them both to prioritise drafting a unification programme for the South Slavic lands inside and outside Austria-Hungary.{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2003a|pp=33–34}}

Despite being partially funded by the Serbian government, the Yugoslav Committee disagreed with it on the method of unification and the system of government. This conflict resulted from a disagreement between Pašić and Supilo. Pašić advocated a [[Centralized government|centralised government]] based in Belgrade, while Supilo wanted a federation and accused Pašić of championing a [[Greater Serbia]]n agenda. When Pašić invited the Yugoslav Committee for talks in May 1917, Supilo warned against discussions without determining Serbian intentions first.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|pp=41–42}}

Committee members learned that, under the [[Treaty of London (1915)|Treaty of London]], the Triple Entente had promised [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] parts of Austria-Hungary's territory – sections of the Slovene Lands, [[Margraviate of Istria|Istria]], and Dalmatia – to entice Italy to join the Entente.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|pp=41–42}} Most of the Committee members were from Dalmatia and saw the Treaty of London as a threat that could only be checked with Serbia's support,{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2003a|p=31}} prompting them to accept Pašić's invitation to Corfu. In protest, Supilo resigned his committee membership.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=42}}

[[File:Krfska.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption|Participants of the June–July 1917 talks that resulted in the adoption of the Corfu Declaration]]
Despite radically different views on the system of government in the proposed common state, a series of meetings were held from 15&nbsp;June to 20&nbsp;July in order to reach a consensus. The negotiating parties mistrusted each other. The Yugoslav Committee based their positions on local autonomies, legal institutions, federalism and the Croatian state right, but the Serbian government considered those positions vestiges of the struggle against the "enemy" (meaning Austria-Hungary). On the other hand, Pašić touted [[universal suffrage]] and simple [[parliamentary democracy]], interpreted by Trumbić as a way to ensure the rule of the Serbs as the most populous ethnic group in the proposed state.{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2003a|pp=33–34}} In response to Trumbić's demands, Pašić said that if the Croats insisted on a federation, the Serbian government would abandon the unification project in favour of the creation of Greater Serbia.{{sfn|Šepić|1968|p=38}} After twenty-eight plenary meetings over the course of thirty-five days, differences of opinion became apparent,{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=42}} and no agreement on the system of government was reached. The resulting Corfu Declaration glossed over this, leaving it to the future Constituent Assembly to decide by an unspecified qualified majority{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2003a|pp=33–34}} – i.e. not by a [[simple majority vote]] – before being approved by the [[Serbian king]].{{sfn|Banac|1984|p=123}} According to the scholar [[Dejan Medaković]], Trumbić claimed he had to sign the Declaration as the only way for his people to be on the war's winning side.{{sfn|Medaković|1997|p=225}}

The Declaration stated that Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes were one "tri-named" people, and that the [[Karađorđević dynasty]] would reign in the new unified state, which would be organised as a parliamentary, constitutional monarchy. Finally, the Declaration stated that the new government would respect the equality of "religion and alphabets", voting rights, and so forth. Trumbić proposed to establish a provisional government of the new state, but Pašić declined in order to avoid undermining the inherent diplomatic advantage Serbia enjoyed as an already-recognised state.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=42}}