David Karas on Battery Production and the Crisis of the Orban Regime in Alternatives Economiques
DI Researcher David Karas spoke with French magazine Alternatives Economiques about how electric car battery production in Hungary is linked to the crisis of the Orban regime.
The article, published before the Hungarian election, reports that Asian battery factories in Hungary can contribute to Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s electoral defeat.
David Karas explains how the Orban government started giving preferential treatment to these companies. To entice them to choose Hungary, the Orban regime has offered them a range of advantages, including direct subsidies amounting to around €3.8 billion per year. But this goes much further, David Karas explains: the state covers the construction of infrastructure (motorways, pipelines, etc.), ensures energy supply, and provides political repression in the event of local opposition. It turns a blind eye to compliance with environmental and social standards and guarantees the availability of a low‑cost workforce.
David Karas also discusses how corruption is a major factor in the dissatisfaction with the government.
“Orban used European subsidies to finance large infrastructure projects, whose public procurement contracts were awarded to his associates,” he said. In a similar way, contracts for infrastructure around the battery plants have been won by oligarchs close to Orban, in particular Lorinc Meszaros, Hungary’s wealthiest man, who is suspected of serving as the prime minister’s front man.
Read the article here (in French, behind paywall).
