The Prime Minister said that the company has decided to stay in Hungary and is now opening new floors because Hungarian workers have proved that they are able to perform their duties to the highest German standards. Mr Orbán thanked all German entrepreneurs through President Ulrich L. Bettermann for having come to Hungary during the difficult times after communism.
They believed in Hungary’s future, friendship between Germans and Hungarians was important for them, they saw a business opportunity in our country, and built factories and created jobs here, the Prime Minister said. They helped Hungarian businesses and Hungarian families to set out on the path which they had set out on much earlier by providing supplier opportunities for them, Mr Orbán said.
A bust of former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher was inaugurated on the stage. The event was attended by Barbara Genscher, the former politician’s widow. In addition to Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the Prime Minister mentioned former Bavarian Minister-President Josef Strauss and former Chancellor Helmuth Kohl as people who never gave up the ideal of a united Germany.
It is thanks to them that the pre-condition of freedom in Eastern- and Central-Europe, the reunification of Germany, was realised. While each of the three politicians belonged to different parties, they all stood up for national unity when it came to Germany’s national interests, Mr Orbán stated. The Prime Minister said that while Hungary has a great many friends in Germany, there are few who stand by Hungary even against the European mainstream.
Hans-Dietrich Genscher was such a man, Mr Orbán said. He added: friendship was more important for him than any favourable leader on the cover of a newspaper the next day. Ulrich L. Bettermann, too, is such a man who is our friend everywhere, “not only within the confines of four walls at home”, the Prime Minister said. We must therefore thank them for the steady support we have received from them so far, Mr Orbán said.
The OBO Bettermann company group is engaged in the production and distribution of electrical infrastructure solutions. Its headquarters is in Menden in Germany. Leslie Mandoki and his band performed for the audience at the inauguration ceremony of the new building.
