The Prime Minister called the project a great Hungarian success story, and highlighted: “This country is beginning to stand up on its own two feet; every week, another investment or development project is further confirmation of the fact that work makes sense”.
“While there are entrepreneurs like these in Hungary, we have nothing to worry about”, he said, referring to the owners of Révész-Nyírlog Ltd.
Mr. Orbán congratulated the company’s owners on the investment, which the Hungarian-owned family business realised over a period of 10 months at a cost of 9 billion forints (EUR 30 million).
In his speech, the Prime Minister reminded those present that the first period following the fall of communism, the transition to a market economy, had been an extremely difficult era in Hungary’s history, and few people would have “given a dime” for the country. “The 2008-2009 global economic crisis floored the Hungarian economy to all intents and purposes, and few people would have believed that anything would ever become of it. Today’s event is also proof of the fact that Hungary has risen from the floor and is almost back on its own two feet”, Mr. Orbán continued.
“I would like every major city in Hungary to be in such good condition and have such excellent development perspectives as are now available to Nyíregyháza”, the Prime Minister declared.
Referring to the company’s owner, Bálint Révész, the Prime Minister said that today’s Hungarian equity holders, entrepreneurs and successful businesspeople include many who began their careers from the very bottom in the 1980’s. “Without these people, the Hungarian national economy would be made up exclusively of foreign-owned companies”, he stated. “They represent the group that are still ‘pioneering and bearing the country on their shoulders’ today, and while such people exist, the Hungarian economy has nothing to worry about”, he declared.
Mr. Orbán explained that today, the majority of the Hungarian economy is made up of foreign enterprises, but Hungarian enterprises are “closer to our hearts”, after all. Referring to the business relationship between the Révész Group and French tyre manufacturing giant Michelin, the Prime Minister said it was a reassuring feeling that Hungarian-owned enterprises and large foreign companies are capable of cooperating in Nyíregyháza, stressing that “Hungarian-owned companies and foreign investments are not each other’s adversaries in view of the fact that they are all part of the same Hungarian national economy, and cooperation between them is the key to development”.
On the subject of export indices, Mr. Orbán said there can be no export performance without logistics, and that there was an excellent chance that Hungarian exports performance would be approaching record levels this year. “Most of this may be generated by foreign companies, but an increasing ratio of Hungarian companies are also participating in producing goods for export and in realising exports as logistics partners”, he added.
“People are also important to family businesses, and they are very involved with their immediate environment and with the people with whom they share a settlement”, the Prime Minister said, refereeing to the social and sports role played by the company in Nyíregyháza.
“Today, the state would no longer be capable of providing for the cultural, leisure, healthcare and sports requirements of ten million people were it not for family-owned business that assume a significant part of these duties”, he declared.
“If the Government can help it, the economic frameworks within which enterprises can be founded, developed and invested in, will remain in place for many, many years”, the Prime Minister declared, asking the Hungarian people to evaluate the country’s situation “calmly and soberly” next year, and when the time comes to make a simple and wise decision on how we should continue our lives.
