Relations between Chinese car manufacturer BYD and Viktor Orbán have come under renewed scrutiny after one of the former Hungarian prime minister’s closest allies joined the auto company. The surprise move was immediately questioned by the new Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar, who suggested voters might now see “whose interests” Orbán’s interests served.
Szijjártó’s new role at BYD
Péter Szijjártó announced he was quitting Hungarian politics to join BYD in an “external affairs” or public relations capacity. The move comes just months after an NGO levelled allegations of potential violations of European labour laws against BYD’s new plant in Szeged, its first in Europe, based on interviews with Chinese migrant workers there. Reports described seven-day weeks and “debt bondage” among the workers.
Political reactions
Announcing the move, Szijjártó wrote on Facebook: “BYD represents one of the greatest automotive success stories of the past twenty years and is the world’s leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles. As of today, I am continuing my work as the executive responsible for the group’s external relations and the development of new business lines.”
Magyar, also on Facebook, said: “It may become obvious to Fidesz voters in retrospect whose interests the former foreign minister of the failed Orbán government represented in connection with the trillion-dollar battery and automotive industry investments.”
Szijjártó’s political career
Szijjártó’s move ends a 24-year parliamentary career. He entered the national assembly in 2002, became Orbán’s personal spokesman in 2010, and served as foreign minister from 2012. Earlier this year, Ukraine called for an investigation into Szijjártó’s relationship with Moscow after secret recordings of calls with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov emerged, in which he said he was “always at your disposal”.
Before his landslide victory in the Hungarian general election, Magyar threatened to publish details of Orbán’s contact with BYD.
