Editing Tegetthoff-class battleship (section)

=== Budget negotiations and passage ===
[[File:Rudolf Montecuccoli.png|thumb|left|200px|Rudolf Montecuccoli, ''Marinekommandant'' of the Austro-Hungarian Navy from 1904 to 1913|alt=A black-and-white photo of an elderly naval officer in full dress uniform, with several medals pinned to his left breast.]]
The budgets providing funding for the ''Tegetthoff'' class were finally approved after two meetings of the Austrian ''Reichsrat'' and the Diet of Hungary in October and November 1910, with opposition being rejected as the Italian Navy had laid down [[Conte di Cavour-class battleship|another three battleships]] during the summer.{{sfn|Sieche|1991|p=115}}{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=194}} The retroactive passage of the 1910 budget and the passage of the 1911 budget was secured between December and March with little opposition. [[István Tisza]], who had won [[Hungarian parliamentary election, 1910|Hungary's 1910 parliamentary election]] but instead chose to allow a government to form under [[Károly Khuen-Héderváry]], secured passage of the budgets with his large parliamentary majority. This was done after it was agreed the contract for the battleship which would eventually become ''Szent István'' was to be awarded to the Ganz-Danubius shipyard in Fiume.{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=195}} Tisza's political allies were likewise won over with bribes such as being appointed to the board of directors of the Adria Line.{{sfn|Gebhard|1968|p=211}} Securing passage of the budgets in the Austrian ''Reichsrat'' had been comparatively easy. [[Karel Kramář]], leader of the [[Young Czech Party]], supported the budgets with the justification that he had "a certain weakness for the navy."{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=195}} Šusteršič, leader of the Slovene bloc, rallied support by arguing that the battleships were in the best interests of the navy and the Slovenian people. German politicians supported the battleships' construction on the grounds that their existence made Austria-Hungary a more powerful ally for Germany. The final package included provisions which ensured that while the armor and guns of the ''Tegetthoff'' class were to be constructed within Austria, the electrical wiring and equipment aboard each ship was to be assembled in Hungary. Additionally, half of all ammunition for the battleships' guns would be purchased in Austria and half was to be bought in Hungary.{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|pp=195–196}} Only the Social Democrats opposed the budgets. Their leader, [[Karl Seitz]], decried the worsening relations with Italy and called for negotiations with Rome to end the Austro-Italian naval arms race. In a sign of Austria-Hungary's strained relationship with her nominal ally Italy, the proposal failed with little support outside of Seitz' party. The budgets passed both parliaments with large majorities, ensuring that the financial questions regarding the construction of the ships were resolved.{{sfn|Sondhaus|1994|p=195}}