USA TODAY International Edition
Elite gather in Davos amid backlash over globalization
World Economic Forum starts Tuesday
Around the globe last year, voters evicted establishment politicians and leaders. Now, quite a few of those cast out will nevertheless layer on expensive clothing and travel to a snowy Swiss resort this week to solve the world’s problems over fancy canapés and bottles of mineral water.
The World Economic Forum’s 47th annual four- day meeting begins Tuesday in Davos- Klosters, Switzerland. More than 3,000 participants from 100 countries — including 1,200 CEOs, 50 heads of state and government, and dozens of public intellectuals, media titans and career social activists — will attend the Alpine gathering.
The theme of this year’s confab, “Responsive and Responsible Leadership,” is likely a veiled reference to any number of shake- ups on the world stage in 2016. That list includes the surprise election of Donald Trump in the United States; Britain’s decision to jettison decades of European Union membership with Brexit; the surge in support for far- right and isolationist populist groups from France to Poland to the Philippines; Turkey’s slide toward authoritarianism; and a resurgent and trouble- making Russia.
“Many people are living in precarious situations and searching for identity and meaning in a fast- changing world,” said Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Eco- nomic Forum, explaining this year’s theme in a briefing. “They want to regain their sense of purpose.”
David Callaway, a Davos veteran and former USA TODAY editor- in- chief who is now CEO at TheStreet, a financial news and services firm, said the theme reflects the multi- pronged attack on globalization that played out over the past year.
“Not just Trump, but Brexit, ( Philippine President Rodrigo) Duterte, ( French far- right presidential candidate Marine) Le Pen, the list goes on,” Callaway said. “The very underpinnings of what makes Davos such a special event each year are under attack across the globe. Now more than ever, corporate and academic leaders need to make their voices heard on the importance of working together — and heard by the new political elite.”
That may prove challenging. Raging socio- economic culture wars over “fake news,” allegations of Russia meddling in the U. S. elections, the sense that political protocols and standards are eroding, and the possibility of protectionist trade policies — all are sowing deep divisions among populations and countries.
And few among the new elite will make the trip.
With President- elect Trump’s inauguration Friday, his new administration will be represented by just one person: Anthony Scaramucci, an entrepreneur and writer.
“The challenge for elites attending this year is to figure out what to do about those who have been left behind by globalization,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Markit, a consultancy. “If in a year from now, there are still the same cast of characters coming to Davos but no real change, this conference will seem irrelevant.”