Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen – somewhere out there in the dimness!
I would like to extend my warmest greetings to the international and domestic leaders of Flex. Thank you very much for inviting me here today. I would like to extend my respectful greetings to local dignitaries, to the Mayor, to the Member of Parliament, and to representatives of the Hungarian government. The most important sentence has already been said. In response to a question he asked himself, the Vice President said: “Why Zalaegerszeg? Because of the people.” At first hearing, we might think that he was referring to the local people in Zalaegerszeg – and there’s certainly a lot of truth in that. But since Flex has plants not only in Zalaegerszeg but also in several other locations in Hungary, we can suppose that when he praised or spoke appreciatively of Hungarians, he was not only thinking of the people of Zalaegerszeg or Zala County, but of the workers in all of Hungary’s factories. I think this was the most important sentence. Because when we look for the answer to the question of why – even now, in the most difficult times of economic war in Europe – a succession of large, important, developed foreign companies operating with serious technology are still arriving in Hungary, and are by this, the answer to this question, which baffles many in Europe, is found in this: they come because of the Hungarian people. By this we mean primarily the workers and engineers, and secondarily the environment that surrounds these factories. In Hungary, people know very well that without such foreign investments, an industry based on modern technology cannot be established in our country.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are here today because we are handing over an investment worth 35 billion forints. It will provide 210 people with high added value research and development-oriented, high-tech industrial standard jobs. These are, I might say, future-proof. This is where the Next Gen Mobility factory is taking shape, helping to find solutions to the most important challenges facing the automotive industry. From here, in Zala, they will supply Europe with automotive, IT and battery platforms – as well as all kinds of electronic devices that mere mortals do not even know exist. The Hungarian government has contributed 7.8 billion forints in support of this project. We’ve done this wholeheartedly, because Flex is a long-standing, reliable and predictable partner for Hungary – and we thank you very much for that! It is providing jobs for 6,000 Hungarians, which means it is helping 6,000 families with their household incomes, with 4,000 of these 6,000 employees working here in Zalaegerszeg. As a result, over the past fifteen years the employment rate in this county has risen from 58 per cent to 73 per cent, and – as I have learned from the National Tax and Customs Administration – in nine years the real value of net average earnings has increased by 60 per cent. I would also like to mention that over the past five years more people have been returning to this county than have been leaving, even though outward migration used to be continuous. Flex has played a huge role in this tremendous success, which is particularly important for local people.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have described this to you in such detail because behind the opening and support of this factory lies a profound – I would say, fundamental – question related to economic policy, which I can most simply express as follows: What should Hungarians’ money be spent on? To put it more precisely, or in other words: Should Hungarian money be spent on supporting such investments, and if so, why? In Hungary there are two radically different answers to this question, two schools of thought. Although an election will be held in Hungary in four months’ time, I do not want to campaign now – I just want to highlight the possibilities that Hungary faces. According to one school of thought, which we belong to, spending Hungarian taxpayers’ money on such investments is the best possible use of those funds, as we have always been in favour of performance, high value-added jobs, and good investments in Hungary. We are convinced that these investments will make the future predictable and secure, ensuring well-paid jobs, predictable career paths, for people to have families, homes, children, low taxes, and decent pensions. We can achieve these goals with investments and factories such as the one Flex has now built here in Zalaegerszeg. Of course, there is another school of thought that says we should not spend money on such goals. That is a classic left-wing position, and we all know the end result: unemployment, high taxes, debt, and ultimately impoverishment. I speak from experience. I have been through this twice. Once in 1998 after Lajos Bokros, and once in 2010 after the left-wing government that preceded us – I will not mention any of their names on such a beautiful day. In the end, of course, it is we who have had to deal with the consequences of such bad economic policies, and remedy the problems.
My Dear Friends,
This current investment is also important because, let us not forget, war is ravaging the eastern edges of Europe, and this war is blocking investments and blocking the economic opportunities of the entire European Union. What is more, Europe’s international influence in the global economy is diminishing day by day, and a new global economic order is taking shape, the pages of which – as I see it – are unfortunately no longer being written on the old continent. You all know that there are forces in Europe that want to continue the war. That requires money – including the money of the European people, and including the money of the Hungarian people. This will require tax increases and borrowing, the interest on which even our grandchildren will still be paying. If we spend our money on that, we will never have enough resources to develop industry and build factories and introduce modern technologies to Hungary, as Flex has just done.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If this continues, if this continues in Europe, European industry will slowly but surely come to an end. The continent is already dangerously behind in the field of state-of-the-art technologies. There are hardly any European products left in the world for which there is real demand, and the market share of those that remain is continuing to shrink. Let us rejoice that Flex is a success story. We have heard from the European director here that orders are secured for years to come, so this factory not only symbolises a success story with its construction, but also – given the orders – we can say that it is destined to be one of the great industrial successes of the coming years here in Hungary.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I must tell you that although we are facing a particularly dangerous period in Europe, this does not mean that this era does not also offer opportunities for us. Zala County is at the forefront of exploring and exploiting these opportunities. One of Europe’s most modern automotive test tracks, ZalaZONE, was built here; here in this circle I can admit to you that it was essentially thanks to Minister Palkovics – it was not only the idea that was essentially his decision, but also the location. And since then several high-tech companies and development centres have found a home here.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
From now on this factory will manufacture and develop components and the latest products for the modern automotive industry of the future – and who knows what else. Together we can ensure that even though the future in Europe will be unpredictable and dangerous, here in Hungary we will still be able to make the future predictable and safe. And finally, if we add to this the fact that 70 per cent of Flex’s suppliers are still Hungarian-owned, and that 98 per cent of the products manufactured here are for export, meaning that they are sold outside Hungary, then the picture that emerges is very encouraging – not to say bright. I was a soldier here sometime in the early 1980s, and later I was called back for another six months immediately after my party was founded. So I have about a year and a half of personal experience of this area. I remember that in the communist era Zala was mockingly referred to as “dim Zala”. I think that the last thirty years have provided a resounding answer to those who thought that way back then. We are not just talking about the fact that this is no longer a dim place, but that as one of the outstanding locations for Hungarian knowledge technology and innovation in Hungary it does not absorb light, but rather radiates it out to more distant areas of Hungarian industry.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
What is being built here will function not only today, but also tomorrow, hopefully in peace and security. I would like to emphatically and forcefully tell investors that the calm, predictable environment – including the issue of peace and war, including stable industrial policy, including a stable tax system, including support for such investments and developments – will all continue to be guaranteed for you in the future by Hungary’s national government of the Right. Congratulations on this new plant; I wish Flex every success, I wish the Hungarian people working here every success, and I wish the people of Zala and Hungary every success too! Thank you for your attention.
Go Hungary, go Hungarians!