Prime Minister Orbán’s speech on 7 November at the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement with Alcoa-Köfém Ltd. in the Parliament Building.

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen!


It is also with great respect that I greet you in return. I would like to add a few thoughts to what the General Manager has said, roaming to areas that extend beyond the world of a single corporation and are suitable for drawing conclusions of a more general economic policy or national policy nature. There are some things that we rarely talk about, yet we would do better to talk about more. We know that the company here today, Alcoa, is Köfém. We have heard that we shall soon be celebrating its 70th anniversary. If we ask the Hungarian people, what has become of Hungarian industry since the regime change, then a significant proportion of them will simply replay that it has been stolen. Because the privatisation process was a synonym for that. And then some things remained, while others disappeared. And we very rarely talk about what hasn't been stolen. We very rarely talk about the fact that there are some national assets that were established during the previous regime and which, when the regime change occurred, were not lost. And since we don't talk about this, we never ask ourselves the question, so how come this one did survive? And I think it is very important for us to stop for a moment with relation to Alcoa, and the General Manager should not listen for a moment, because I don't wish to make the mistake of descending into giddy glorification, but we must recognise that it is human quality that decided what has remained of Hungarian industry and what has been stolen. While talking to the company's CEO I put him the question: after the regime change in 1990, and lets say a year later when the Transformation Act on economic restructuring made it possible, why didn't the management at the time, which otherwise in great part corresponds with the current one, decide to get hold of the factory for themselves? And the reply I received went like this: they decided in the way they did because on the one hand it wouldn't have been right, and on the other hand, it would have meant a huge responsibility. Because it is clear that a company of this size would have been incapable of staying afloat in the aluminium industry following what we might call a hurried privatisation; Köfém would have become a shambles, slowly disappearing piece-by-piece, falling apart and losing the position that it had achieved against fierce international competition thanks to the efforts of its workforce over the previous 40-50 years. It is very important that we should remember the fact that there were in Hungary, and there still are among us, company directors who out of company loyalty, honour and a feeling of responsibility towards the workforce, thought not along the lines of management privatisation, but for whom instead the most important issue was to make the company internationally competitive within the entirely new world political environment. This is in my view a great success story. From this point of view, the history of Alcoa-Köfém is also, I think, a human success story. It is not just an economic success story that is underlined by figures, as the General Manager has done, but also a human success story that provides an encouraging example for each and every one of us.


I am of course personally delighted that all this happened in Székesfehérvár, because this is after all my city too, and I am happy that one of its largest companies hasn't been lost, but instead remains the pride of the city's industry to this very day. And so I would like to stress that those expressions that are slowly falling out of use in everyday language still exist in these times of crisis. There is honour, there is company loyalty, there is management responsibility – these concepts all hold true. It may be the case that during the past twenty odd years they have merged into the background and may seem a little dated, but take note, they will slowly come back into fashion. A significant number of the company's management staff have also been with the company for many years. And so company loyalty, corporate loyalty, and the assumption of joint responsibility for the future of the company are all concepts which, although they may seem outdated, will soon come back into fashion throughout the Hungarian economy.


The other thing I would like to talk to you about is the fact that, as you know, this is an American investment. This is a time-honoured Hungarian company which has been successfully developed to an internationally competitive level with the help of an American investment. The General Manager did not mention the fact, but I would like you to know that practically everyone who works for the company is Hungarian. The management is Hungarian too. I feel this is important because we Hungarians are prone to underestimating our own capabilities, and when we do finally manage to achieve a result of international standard, then instead of talking about it and celebrating the fact, we begin immediately to talk about our doubts. To say fine, today was a success, but what about tomorrow? Instead, we should occasionally stop and talk about the present. The fact is after all that, as the General Manager has explained, we are manufacturing aluminium parts using the world's most modern industrial equipment. Determinative parts, and sometimes main components at a level of quality which today is at the forefront internationally, while the factory and the technology that manufactures these is operated by Hungarian people in the role of skilled and unskilled labour, and while Hungarian people are directing the company that is capable of manufacturing this competitive range of products. This is a great Hungarian success. The fact that Hungarians are capable of achieving such performance in this incredibly competitive sector, even if it is within the framework of an American company, is a Hungarian success. In addition, the history of Alcoa is also important because it shows that a foreign company's investment in the Hungarian economy can fit well into the national economy of Hungary as a whole. It is a very important point at a time when feelings against multinational companies are at an all time high both throughout the world an often even in Hungary, and it is important that we should take every opportunity to say that we cannot paint everyone with the same brush. And the reason we are concluding this agreement with Alcoa is that we believe that this is an investment by a multinational that fits into the Hungarian national economy well and on the basis of mutual advantages. It is therefore in the interests of all Hungarians that Alcoa should continue to be successful in Hungary as an American investment with Hungarian management. This is important not only to the people of Székesfehérvár and those who work there; it is important for every person in Hungary who wishes to make a living within the Hungarian economy. For this reason, this is an American investment of which we could do with many similar ones in Hungary in the future.


The next thing I would like to stress is the issue of the reinvestment of profits. We know that a significant proportion of the aversion towards multinationals has developed because during the period of privatisation, many of them came to Hungary purely in search of markets. They dismantled the Hungarian production capacity operating within those markets and pocketed the resulting profits, but in the meantime the workplaces and market cultures that had been created there disappeared. It is extremely important to stress that there are also examples of the opposite. It is extremely important to recognise that there are multinational companies that link to the Hungarian economy in such a way that they do not just advertise the fact, but – as is clear from the figures from the past twenty years – a substantial part of the profits that have been realised through the cooperation of Hungarian labour and American capital has practically all been reinvested into the Hungarian production capacity. They have not taken away, they have reinvested, developed, and as such, have also developed Hungary.


Well, Ladies and Gentlemen!


I feel this Agreement to be especially important also because if you read the international analysis and follow the news on the international economy, then you will know that everyone is talking about a protracted Eurozone crisis and a related protracted European economic crisis. And so it is in a low-performing environment that we must create, operate and develop a successful Hungarian economy. And this would be impossible without companies such as Alcoa. It is also extremely significant that during a crisis such as this a Hungarian company built on foreign investment that otherwise produces or performs for export wishes to cooperate with the Government because is aims to strengthen its activities in Hungary. When I provocatively asked the General Manager: Sir, why exactly are we signing this Agreement? How would you define your own interests?, his reply was simple, and I have taken his way of thinking as my own. He simply said, this Agreement means that Hungary is important to Alcoa. And Alcoa is important to Hungary too. This is what this Agreement is all about. And it is on the basis of this common interest that we have achieved a relationship of trust, which also makes it possible – while of course we are talking about a Strategic Cooperation Agreement here – for a direct connection to be established between the company's directors and the economic administration of present and future Hungarian Governments in the interests of solving all possible problems. Even during today's meeting there cropped up two or three less significant issues, meaning less important compared to the major ones, but still important issues, such as vocational training and research & development etc., in which problems have arisen in recent years, and I was able to promise the General Manager that we will solve these issues one by one. And this Agreement makes it possible to pick out certain issues from among the others and, precisely as a result of this relationship of trust, to solve them more quickly so that this multinational may also report to its investment headquarters that Hungary is the place where profits may be realised, where developments can be achieved, and where the relationship of trust that has been built with the administration provides stability and predictability for the company.


And finally, this company directly and indirectly provides around six thousand families with a livelihood. If we calculate with six thousand families for simplicity, then we can usually multiply that by four here in Hungary, and that means we are talking about twenty-four thousand people. If it wasn't for Alcoa, this many additional people would not have a livelihood in Hungary. The General Manager has spoken about the company's financial situation, this is his privilege and I do not wish to comment on the issue, but everyone who knows anything about Hungarian industry can tell you that compared to many other Hungarian companies, Alcoa counts as a company that not only pays regularly, but also pays well. So as far as we are concerned when we talk about Alcoa we are not just talking about five to six thousand families, but five to six thousand families who are earning good money, and with them a total of twenty-four thousand Hungarian people with secure livelihoods.


An indeed finally, the General Manager also spoke about assuming social responsibility. He mentioned a few things that are important for the city. This is perhaps the time to also express my thanks to András Cser-Palkovics, who played a role in making this agreement possible. Many of you may remember that it wasn't too long ago when Székesfehérvár was one of the world's most dynamically developing centres of investment, sometime during the first years of the new millennium and the end of the 1990s; and although we may have lost much of our position in recent years, once one has been at the top of the mountain one doesn't climb hills; we only operate a mountaineering division. And accordingly, we would like to climb back to where we once were. So, the General Manager spoke about assuming social responsibility and that this was important for the city, but there are two or three other points that I would like to mention. Issues that are not in any way the administration's affair, but rather concern the company's management, and yet still have social significance. Not only do they pay their employees well, but they make use of current business regulation opportunities to ensure that their employees preferably have extra health insurance, have additional pension insurance, and have life insurance. When I began by saying that dated concepts will once again become fashionable, then I was also thinking about this issue. I sincerely hope that there will be increasing numbers of companies in Hungary who provide a long-term employment opportunity to those who work there, and don't simply pay them a salary, but also provide them with services and added incentives that are important in the long term for their lives and outlook, such as health insurance, pension insurance or life insurance, in addition to what is prescribed by the state. Alcoa is such a company. And it is on the basis of these arguments that I can gladly acknowledge that we have successfully concluded this Agreement and would like to thank the General Manager of Alcoa and his honour the Mayor for being partners in this Agreement. And to Alcoa, Alcoa's owners, directors and the workers employed there we wish much strength and good health. This is also part of what is meant by the Government's signature on this Agreement.

Thank you for your attention!

(Prime Minister’s Office)