As of: 01/16/2023 4:02 p.m
War in Ukraine, corona pandemic and inflation – the list of global crises is long. The mood at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is correspondingly depressed.
The sound of Davos is already there: military helicopters control the airspace and bring the global elite to the posh Swiss ski resort. Around 3000 guests from business, politics and science are expected at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, people will meet again as usual in January for debates and exchange. The long-term goal – according to the WEF statutes – is “to improve the state of the world”. And that’s bad, rarely have so many global crises shaken the world at the same time.
“Collaboration in a Fragmented World”
At the moment it is a multidimensional danger environment, says WEF Managing Director Alois Zwinggi. “On the one hand, we see climate change, which we have perhaps focused less on in the last two years because of other crises.” In addition, the economic situation is extremely tense: “high inflation, low growth and high debt”. The war in Ukraine has exacerbated the energy and food crises. “So there will be a lot to do,” says Zwinggi.
Politics meets business and finance
The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos begins on Tuesday evening with an opening ceremony. It is the 53rd annual meeting of the event, which first took place in 1971 as the “European Management Symposium”. This year more participants are expected than ever before. Speeches and panel discussions with numerous prominent representatives from politics, business and finance are on the program from Tuesday, including EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, China’s Deputy Prime Minister Liu He and Siemens CEO Roland Busch. The WEF runs until Friday.
The mood is depressed. Everyone was stuck in a “crisis mentality,” explains WEF founder Klaus Schwab. Davos should now help to change this way of thinking. “Cooperation in a fragmented world” is the motto of the meeting with 52 heads of state and government and more than 600 CEOs from business.
Is climate protection falling behind?
Climate protection activist Luisa Neubauer, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, are also expected. Around 300 WEF critics marched to Davos on Sunday. Her main accusation: The WEF is not doing anything about the climate crisis.
But not only leftists and climate activists criticize the meeting of the powerful in Davos. For some time now, the World Economic Forum has also been a target of right-wing politicians around the world. With the exact opposite accusation: the WEF is too green, too “woke”, too left. This also surprised WEF Managing Director Alois Zwinggi:
It was quite a new experience that the WEF was mentioned in a country as a ‘neo-communist organisation’ in a parliamentary debate. Perhaps one can also say: Thanks to this criticism, one can see that one has a certain relevance.
“Globalization must look different”
Although the WEF has not become a neo-communist organization, people in Davos have also noticed that globalization has made corporations rich and increased global prosperity. But that this globalization has reached its limits. Zwinggi also emphasizes: “We will continue to need globalization, but it will have to look different: greener and more sustainable.”
Davos continues to focus on dialogue, even with difficult partners. Right at the beginning and immediately after EU Commission President von der Leyen, Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He will address the assembled world elite. Russia is not at the table in Davos. As in the previous year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will give a speech at the opening of the World Economic Forum.
In global crisis mode – before the meeting in Davos
Kathrin Hondl, ARD Geneva, currently Davos, 16.1.2023 06:56 a.m