The subject of the article is the speeches of Ivan Dečko, member of the Regional Assembly of Lower Styria, during his second term of office (1896-1902). The introduction of parallel classes in Slovenian at the Celje grammar school in 1895 sent shockwaves among Germans throughout the monarchy, ultimately forcing the Windischgraetz government to step down. Following Badeni’s language ordinances in 1897, which met with a fierce response on the German side, Lower Styrian Germans vigorously responded to every effort made on the Slovenian side. This became most apparent during the visit of Czech university students to Celje in 1899. German-Slovenian tensions had become omnipresent by the turn of the century, the Germans holding the upper hand in the national struggle, which they regularly used to their advantage. A growing ethnic conflict also became evident in the regional assembly in Graz.