July 08, 2008, 11:18 CET
Poll finds Hungarians deeply suspicious of foreign investment
A majority of Hungarians remain hostile to foreign direct investment in the country, according to a survey by Szonda Ipsos on attitudes towards multinational companies, reports business daily Világgazdaság.
Among respondents, only 37% said they had a favorable view of such investments. By comparison, 55% said they think that there are already too many multinationals operating in Hungary.
Age, social status, place of residence and party preference all seem to influence the respondents' attitude, with mostly younger Hungarians, and those living in the country's western regions showing positive attitudes towards international firms.
Among those aged 18-33, 40% said they approve of multinational companies, while the rate was only 32% among those over 65. Among supporters of the two leading political parties, 54% of voters who support the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) said they approve of foreign capital, while 41% voiced opposition. Among Fidesz supporters, the figures were 35% in favor and 62% opposed.
According to Szonda Ipsos research manager Tibor Závecz, the negative attitudes towards multinational companies are due to the prejudice against the unknown and a lack of experience and expertise.
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How a country can survive without external investment? Hungary could not survive by herself. Should we say "No, we do not want your money" to Mercedes? Should we say "No, we prefer to have our companies bankrupted rather to receive money from abroad". I am sure the supporters of Ferencvaros were happy to see British investment.
Hungary needs to be more careful with these foreign imvestors. Unfortunately the people in charge are either corrupt or inept or both.
We only want investments that are good for the country. So far we have seen a fire sale of valuable assets and we are losing money on most deals. One quick example would be the Hungarian sugar factories. The competition bought these and soon they closed all of them. No we're living on imported sugar. No money, no jobs, no sugar beet fields. This is how you ruin the once strong Hungarian agriculture and food industry.
There are many more and even worse examples.
Hungary is a small country, but it managed to more or less recover from losing most of its population and natural resources in WWI. Then survived WWII and the Russian occupation. It survived a heavy handed nationalization, and I only hope it will survive the equally mismanaged privatization.
When we are dealing with foreign investors we should look at our own country's interests. We don't have to please the investors at any price, and can't afford to allow giving away any more of our remaining assets. Corruption and mismanagement have done enough damage in the past 20 years, it's time to elect a few good people to replace the ones who contributed to the mess we're in now.
I'm all for foreign capital, Hungary hasn't been in the position in the 20th century to generate much of its own. We just need some good and clean deals, that's all.
Hungarians are still blinkered as ever. And this will not change anytime soon.