David Karas on Reuters about the electric battery sector in Hungary
David Karas spoke to Reuters news agency about how Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s bet on a battery-driven economic upswing appears to have backfired.
The article reports that the Hungarian government has attracted foreign investment worth some 26 billion euro, mainly from South Korean and Chinese manufacturers, into EV batteries. Yet the sector has been so far unable to revive Hungary’s stagnant economy. Recent reports have also noted serious local environmental and health risks caused by the factories.
In the article, David Karas said the perception that Orban’s nationalist government was prioritising foreign capital over local interests was politically toxic.
“Rather than serving as an economic and geopolitical buffer for the regime, the battery bet is now eroding the social contract that underpinned Orban’s system,” he said.
The Reuters piece has been picked up by several media outlets worldwide.
Read the article here.
