Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Opel built a manufacturing footprint in Hungary that created 300,000 jobs and record exports to Germany - and gave Viktor Orbán a card Angela Merkel could never trump. The same economic logic that made Germany dependent on Russian gas applied to its relationship with Budapest.
Sylvie Kauffmann, a Le Monde columnist writing in the Financial Times, traces how EU leaders' misjudgments enabled Orbán's 16-year grip on power, "Hvylya" reports. Orbán wanted to industrialize Hungary's economy; German carmakers "were happy to oblige, attracted by cheap labor and state subsidies," Kauffmann writes.
The dynamic played out visibly during Merkel's 2015 visit to Budapest. She tried to lecture the Hungarian leader on the role of democratic opposition. Orbán replied by pointing to the 300,000 jobs German companies had created and record exports to her country. "All I can say to the chancellor is: thank you, Germany!" he told her.
Orbán used German investment as proof that his model delivered results - jobs, growth, exports - without the liberal democratic framework Brussels demanded. His associates, meanwhile, captured a significant share of EU-funded public contracts, building a patronage network that reinforced his political grip.
Kauffmann draws a direct parallel with Merkel's Russia policy. Her dislike of Vladimir Putin did not prevent her from deepening Germany's dependency on Russian gas for the sake of German industry. The same logic applied to Budapest. "She could not ignore the benefits that Hungary brought to her country's economy," the columnist writes. Germany helped build Hungary into a manufacturing hub - and now lacks the leverage to confront the leader it helped empower.
Earlier, "Hvylya" examined why Berlin closed its last reactors during an energy crisis.