Good day, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The truth is that I have written a speech, but before this ceremony we had quite a long meeting with the factory management. Mr. Breme, the CEO, honoured us with his trust, and we were able to talk at length about the situation at the factory. Therefore I’ll leave my speech for entry in the daily work log, and instead tell you some thoughts that have come to mind as a result of this earlier conversation.
Above all, of course, congratulations to you on this celebration today! With all due modesty, Mr. Breme, I knew it would be like this when, a year and a half or two years ago, I heard that a new CEO was coming, and I heard your name. I knew that we had struck gold, because I remember the name Breme – even though an “h” is added to it – as that of the player who scored the winning goal in a World Cup final. I remembered that there was more in his name than that of the CEO, but I said that with a CEO like that we would certainly make progress. And we have! Congratulations to the CEO on today’s event. But the truth is that, in addition to the CEO, I must also at the same time congratulate the workers and engineers employed here. Whenever I negotiate with any foreign investor here in Hungary, the first three sentences always contain a reference to the fact that a decisive factor in them not only investing in Hungary but also building on their investment is the commitment of the workers and engineers employed here. So without Hungarian workers this factory would be unable to achieve the level of quality that makes Audi globally competitive, and without Hungarian engineers Győr and Audi would not be where they are today. So at this celebration I think that words of special recognition are due to the workers and engineers employed here. Hungary is proud of the Hungarians working in Győr.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There are a lot of young people here and they will not remember this, but, thirty-five years after the fall of communism, I clearly remember that it was doubtful whether – after being a planned economy – Hungary would be able to join the modern Western European economic systems. This was because most of the technologies that had been used here could not be used in the new world that was opening up for us then. And it was clear that without foreign investors Hungary would not have the kind of technology needed to integrate into the Western European market economies at a world-class level. One remembers the first one, because the first is always the most memorable – in almost every area of our lives. And for us this was how Audi was. Audi was the first Western European car company to say: “We’re arriving, we believe in you, we see a future in Hungary, we’ll be successful, and we’ll do it here with you.” For Hungary and for the Hungarian government Audi’s present, future and destiny also signify a special commitment. CEO, Dear Engineers and Workers, I would like you to know that always in the future you can continue to count on the Hungarian government.
Having said this, I would also like to note that the Hungarian automotive industry – and this was confirmed by my conversation with the CEO – is competitive at a global level. This means that everyone who works in a Hungarian car factory is working in a world-class job. And there are not a few of them: here at Audi there are between eleven and twelve thousand people – but fifty thousand people if you include suppliers. Fifty thousand people! Their fates, their livelihoods, the security of their families, depends on the success of this factory. And in this country there are 160,000 families whose fate, future and livelihoods are linked to the car industry. Therefore what happens to the European car industry is not an abstract economic policy issue, but a vital bread-and-butter issue for 160,000 Hungarian families.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I must also say, however, that the European car industry – including Hungary and including Volkswagen and Audi – is now facing serious challenges. We also need to say a few words about this. For a long time I thought that our profession – that of national leaders and politicians – was the most competition-oriented profession in the world. There is no way around it: every four years you have to step forward, and then you either stay or it is goodbye. And I used to think that no competition is tougher than that. But today – looking at the situation of the European car industry, the situation of the whole global car market – I have to say that the most competitive profession is no longer ours, but that of the car manufacturers. Today the fiercest competition in the whole world is in the car industry. And competition, which is of course a beautiful thing, is also extremely risky – because you can not only win, but you can also lose. So Audi, too, will need all its expertise to maintain its position within the group; and Volkswagen will also need all its expertise to maintain its position in the world car industry. We are facing serious challenges, and now I will mention just the most difficult ones: the war, with energy prices up – as everyone who manufactures uses energy, the war is killing us, because it is pushing up energy prices; Brussels, which unfortunately is not run by car CEOs – how nice if it were! – but by bureaucrats who have no idea what determines the competitiveness of a car company; and here is China as a new competitor. I have just heard from the CEO about his experiences at a major car show in China. It is serious competition and a big challenge.
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, while we are celebrating the launch of this new model, this is also a good opportunity to strengthen our confidence; because although in the face of such challenges it is very difficult to stay on one’s feet and maintain one’s position, this new model will give us all the confidence, and perhaps also the self-esteem – certainly for Hungary, and I hope for Audi too – to be able to withstand this competition. Audi has a future if it can repeatedly conjure up models like this and put them into production.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion, I would like to say that the entire European car industry is sailing through stormy waters. If we do not create an alliance between national leaders, the owners of capital and the car manufacturers, and the leadership in Brussels, if we do not work together, if we do not subordinate everything to the success of the big European factories, we could be cutting the branch that we are sitting on and will end up unable to compete. It is therefore very important to realise that bureaucrats must not dictate production technologies and must not dictate to people what they can buy. We must believe that it is freedom – economic freedom and market freedom – that makes us competitive. We must free European manufacturing – including the European car industry – from bureaucratic oppression. I have lived in a world where the leaders of this country thought that it was possible to tell people what to buy and tell factories what to produce by regulation: by rules, by orders and by instructions. And the result was what it was: the collapse of that economic system. In the great world competition, European and German car factories will fall behind, will fall behind irrecoverably, unless we can liberate the car factories – the German car factories and the car factories in Hungary – from bureaucratic oppression. That, above all, is our task. This is in our joint interest, Mr. Breme. I send this message to the group’s managers in Ingolstadt, and to the bureaucrats in Brussels: give industry and consumers back their freedom! If consumers and factories regain their freedom, they will be able to compete even in these difficult, turbulent times. If we do not regain our freedom, we will be unable to keep our jobs, and we will be unable to keep our factories.
But we are here today to celebrate, and so we have good reason for hope. This new model shows that we have a strong case, we have strong evidence that we can produce world-class, competitive products if they let us work: if they let Germany work, if they let the German car factories work, if they let Hungary work, if they let the factories in Hungary work. This means Audi will have a future, the engineers and workers here will have incomes, and their families will have security. In the hope of this good news, in the hope that here is the proof that we can do all this, I respectfully thank the CEO for his work, I thank the managers of the factory for their work, and once again I thank the workers and engineers employed here for their work.
Go Audi! Congratulations and great success to you all!