Davos turns into ‘Little America’

Donald Trump on screen at the WEF in Davos in 2018. Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

This week, the Swiss mountain resort of Davos is hosting the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Around 3,000 representatives from politics, business and science are attending. The focus is on the US, led by US President Donald Trump.

How is the US shaping this year’s WEF?

Thematically and due to the physical presence of US President Donald Trump. He acts like a magnet. He is also leading a high-profile delegation, which includes five of his ministers. In addition, as every year, members of parliament, US governors and many heads of the largest US corporations will be attending. Davos will become “Little America” this year.

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What topics will be at the forefront?

Due to the dynamics of the past few days and hours, the focus is now on the Greenland issue and thus transatlantic relations. Donald Trump will not only be “holding court” in Davos but will also continue to defend his geopolitical ambitions. Opposing him will be the European heads of government and the Canadian Prime Minister, who want to stand up to the US administration. It remains to be seen how united and strong the resistance will be, especially in view of the latest threat by the US to increase tariffs on European goods again.

Apart from the US, what other topics will be discussed in Davos?

This year, global political issues will dominate, such as the current developments in Iran and the situation in Ukraine. Economic issues are likely to take a back seat, even though the trade dispute between the US and China and with Europe continues to smoulder. As in the previous year, much of the focus will be on artificial intelligence.

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What role will WEF founder Klaus Schwab play after being removed from power last year?

For the first time since its founding, Klaus Schwab will no longer play a role. He will neither attend the event nor make any other public appearances. There will also be no tribute to his life’s work. In short, Klaus Schwab, as the defining figure of this event, will be completely ignored.

Does this mark the end of the Schwab era?

Yes. The background to this is his removal from power last spring due to anonymous allegations. These included allegations of enrichment and questionable leadership behaviour. However, an investigation commissioned by the new WEF leadership under Larry Fink and André Hoffmann concluded that no serious violations had been found. In effect, Klaus Schwab was thus rehabilitated. Nevertheless, he is not returning to the big WEF stage, not even for an official departure with honour and glory. The reasons for this cannot be conclusively clarified from the outside: voices from the WEF and Klaus Schwab’s circle say that his non-appearance was part of the review process last summer.

How will Schwab’s departure affect the WEF?

At least so far, no effects are visible. This is partly because the programme and organisation of the event have been handled by a management team for years. But thanks to Klaus Schwab’s huge network, the WEF has always attracted top-level participants. The new leadership will now have to prove that it can do the same. With this year’s edition featuring prominent participants, the WEF leadership wants to show that it is capable of doing so.

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Translated from German by AI/ts

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