While the immigration problem facing Hungary is relatively new, the country has had tackle the issue of emigration for several years now. And at the latest session of the German Business Club it once again became apparent how dangerous this issue can be, when Hungary is assessed as a potential business location. The five companies at the roundtable all have been struggling with the loss of employees due to emigration and they have significant worries for the future. Some try to tackle this problem by warning their employees about the dangers and side effects of moving abroad, others are trying to make their own company more attractive. The latter is not as simple as it sounds. When it comes to costs, international corporations not only have to pay attention to their direct competitors, but also have to be able to match up against other foreign divisions within their own firm. Still, a higher wage and offering other benefits is something that companies can decide on their own. The Hungarian health-care system, however, is completely out of their hands and this was an area frequently mentioned by participants of the roundtable. And despite what can now be called a considerable economic growth, success stories from the health-care sector are rather sparse (and this is putting it very politely). It seems that the political decision makers – who are obviously perfectly healthy – have different priorities than the normal, mortal citizens, who would probably appreciate clean and modern hospitals more than shiny and empty stadiums. Companies of German origin have already given this country a lot of great things. Perhaps they could start to focus their energy and persuasiveness on the health-care system. Who knows? Perhaps they could again create something great.
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