S. Balogh argued that he wanted to re-establish the early phases of the Károlyi regime, yet exclude the later shift that led to the Social Democratic Party having more influence in the affairs of the state. Prime Minister of Hungary Following the success of the coup, which counted on the Romanian neutrality and the tacit support of the British and the Italians, on 7 August 1919 Friedrich was named prime minister while the archduke became regent. After a one-week transitional period lasting until 15 August, his cabinet was composed primarily of former members of the government of Prime Minister Mihály Károlyi, belonging mainly to the more conservative wing of his Independence Party, which had split during his rule. Friedrich founded his own party Christian National Party (KNP) but it did not have mass support. He was far to the left of the counter-revolutionaries who had plotted the coup against the Peidl government and attempted to carry out, ultimately unsuccessfully, the moderate program that had originally been proposed at the beginning of the government of Károlyi. His government was even weaker than Peidl's and was little more than a collection of conspirators and unknown figures, without members of the nobility that could serve to attract the counterrevolutionary right. The cabinet could not count on British nor Italian military aid, given the practical absence of troops from these countries in the capital, nor could it count on Romanian aid, whose units occupied the city and the eastern territories. The government of Bucharest refused to recognise the Friedrich cabinet. The government of Szeged and the French, for their part, almost immediately tried to do away with the Friedrich government or, if this was impossible, to alter its composition. The neighbouring states, fearful of a restoration of the Habsburgs, supported the French position and showed their opposition to the appointment of Archduke Joseph. After the seizure of power, Friedrich tried to limit reckoning with the former government's criminals, without much success. Attacks were soon launched on Jews, accused by many reactionaries of being responsible for the Soviet government and any crimes committed during its period. In spite of this, in mid-August he had succeeded in forming a broad coalition government which, however, was not joined by the Socialists. Without these, the Entente refused to recognise the government. The Entente feared that the government, with a ruler from the ancient imperial family, would restore the