It is in our Fundamental Interests for Job-Creating Investors to come to Hungary

March 18, 2014 12:01 PM

Prime Minster Viktor Orbán's Speech at the Inauguration of RAFI Hungária Ltd's New Production Hall

Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Respected Managing Director, Our Dear Friends from Germany, People of Mezőtúr and Törökszentmiklós,

I am glad that you are all here with us today. Before coming here, we reviewed the state of the city with the Mayor and the city's leaders. Please allow me to inform you that the Government has fully assumed 3.2 billion forints, that's three billion two-hundred million forints in debt from the city of Mezőtúr, and so this burden no longer pushes down on the shoulders of the people of Mezőtúr. And as we have heard a little earlier, this provides an opportunity for the income from local taxes to be put towards furthering the situation of the people of Mezőtúr rather than towards repaying the debt's which, wisely or unwisely, let's not dwell on that now, the city took on in previous years. I would also like to take this opportunity to inform you that during this short review the mayor and I also determined that during the past four years we have funded a total of 86 projects in the city totalling over 5 billion forints. This means that we have taken away 3 billion forints in debt and brought 5 billion in funding. That isn't a bad deal, is it? My wish for the people of Mezőtúr is that they make only such excellent deals in the upcoming twenty years.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The reason I would have liked to tell you this is that, although of course we are glad to be inaugurating a new production hall here today, and I will be speaking about that too in a moment, we all know that life is not easy around here. And we can also see that the city is not in a good state as yet. We still have a lot to do to enable new plants to open here and we still have much to do to ensure that the young people who are born here should want to stay here, go to school here, start a family here and find work for themselves here. When I was negotiating with the directors of the factory a little earlier, the opinion came up that it would be good if one or two similar plants of this kind were established here in Mezőtúr, because then the life of the settlement would be assured.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There is hope that this may happen. There is hope because the history of this third production hall fills us with hope. If you ask the plant's directors, the directors who have arrived from Germany, why they decided to build this production hall, and this is the third one, as you have heard, then the reply you will receive is because the people with whom they began cooperation here have done a good job. They way things work is that when there is the possibility of establishing a factory somewhere, it always includes an element of risk. But when a company begins to expand an existing plant then they know exactly what they are doing, because by that time the business isn't based on possible yields and on risks but on experience. I would be glad if the people of Mezőtúr and those who come to work here from the surrounding area felt the significance of this fact, that of course this is a German investment, but that this German investment behind us here in Mezőtúr could not have come about without you having worked hard for it during these past years. You have yourselves to thank for it, Ladies and Gentlemen! And we know that where there are a lot of regular customers, the service must be excellent. This here is the company's third production hall here in Mezőtúr, and it is no accident that the company's directors have indicated that they may be constructing further production halls and creating more new jobs.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We all know that the most important issue in Hungary today is jobs. 40 new jobs are now being created here, and we hope that this number will increase, because the construction of a new production hall also means the establishment of related investments and other linked services. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the owners of this factory are German. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, because German industry is present in Hungary in great force. And here I will open brackets. Our dear guests need not necessarily listen, but the fact is that when a foreign company decides on investing abroad then it must overcome a severe internal struggle. Because everyone would like that investment. To keep it at home in Germany, for instance, or to take it abroad; many are keen to apply. And the fact that we can today state that more and more German companies are bringing their industrial production capacity here from Germany means that the Germans don't simply regard us as a country with a good workforce, but have found a way to cooperate with the Hungarians.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Hungarian industry would find it difficult to stay afloat without cooperation with German industry. And for this reason it is in our fundamental interests for foreign investors to come here who, in contrast to privatisation practices, and those of you who remember the nineties know what I'm talking about, when foreign investors bought our factories for pennies and then closed them and occupied the market. We have no need for investors like that. We need investors, we need friends from Germany and primarily from German industry, who come here and don't take something away but instead bring something. Who create jobs. And so I would like to ask the people of Mezőtúr to appreciate our German friends and encourage them to search for newer and newer forms of cooperation in the upcoming period. Our plan, Ladies and Gentlemen, God willing and if the electorate wishes it, is to also implement large-scale development in this area of the country over the next four years. This of course requires jobs and it requires partners from the private sector. The directors of this German factory seem to be partners of this kind. And so it may easily be the case that, if there is a favourable constellation following the elections, we may be concluding a long-term cooperation agreement that we can supplement with long-term development, regional development, plans for Mezőtúr.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to mention the fact that the Government has provided 240 million forints in funding towards this investment. It is not the Government who deserves your thanks for this, but the Hungarian taxpayers, because all the Government can do is reassign the taxpayers' money. This is an 840 million forint factory expansion project to which the Government contributed 240 million so that new jobs can be created for the people of Mezőtúr and the surrounding area. The number of people working at this factory is approaching 400, and so this factory is beginning to be one of strategic significance to Hungary.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please allow me to express my wish that the plant's new employees find secure and cultured workplaces that provide a good living here in this production hall. My wish for the plant's management is that their calculations be realised. May enough profit be generated for them that they feel it is worth bringing further investments here, because this is not a social investment, Ladies and Gentlemen, but a business investment in which everyone must gain something: both the equity holders and the factory's workers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We could of course pretend that there are not just 18 days to go until the general election, but you would not believe that this was not what I was really thinking about anyway. So it is easier if I also say a few words about this, without of course overstepping my welcome.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We all know that to be able to get somewhere we first need to stand up. During the past four years, Hungary has gained strength and is now standing. This does not necessarily mean that it has begun moving forwards yet, but it is already standing on its own two feet. The next four years will be about making use of the opportunity provided by the fact that we are nobody's slaves anymore, we are no longer debt slaves and we are capable of standing on our own two feet; we aren't doing what others tell us to, but what our own interests dictate and we aren't doing what is good for others but what is good for the Hungarians. The next four years will be about exploiting this opportunity for the common good of each and every one of us. What this requires, Ladies and Gentlemen, is that we recognise why we were capable of achieving these results during the past four years. There is only one reason we were capable of this, Ladies and Gentlemen; because Hungary was in unity. During the past four years, Hungary was the most unified nation in all of Europe. This is why we were capable of taking up the gauntlet and entering debates and facing challenges with regard to which it initially seemed that the odds were against us. Whether with regard to the reduction in public utility prices, foreign currency debtors, the bureaucrats in Brussels or the great Danube flood. The reason we were able to overcome these challenges, Ladies and Gentlemen, is because the Hungarians pooled their strength. They searched for what binds us together, and not for what separates us. And everyone wanted to do their part for their country.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The question is, will we preserve and maintain this unity? Because strength requires unity. My wish for you is that you put the four years we have left behind us on the balance – and might I quietly add that it perhaps wouldn't be a bad idea to weigh up the previous 8 years too – measure your opinion on an accurate balance, form your opinion and go out and vote on 6 April. Submit your vote according to your convictions and as you see fit. I ask of you only one thing. Always keep in mind: if we want a strong and successful country then we need unity, a unified Hungarian nation. It is to this that I wish you much strength and good health!

Go, Hungary! Go, Hungarians!