There is a growing anger towards those up there – at least that is the impression after the protests of the last few weeks, the election forecasts for next year and all the anecdotal conversations that have been had in the last few months. Do we really need a meeting of business and government leaders in the Swiss mountains to solve the world’s problems?
Around 2,800 people from business, politics and the media will meet again in Davos until Friday to create a better world, at least according to the stated claim. But trust in these powerful people has been declining for years; the World Economic Forum (WEF) has become a symbol and now also a real conspiracy theory.
That’s why this year’s motto can also be interpreted in a self-referential way: Rebuilding Trust. It can be read that we, the elite, the decision-makers, have to do something so that people trust us again.
There have been many years now in which the so-called multi-crisis has been the topic at the World Economic Forum – a term that actually means nothing more than: There are many crises at the same time. There was the climate crisis, there was the pandemic, then there was the war in Ukraine. Crises everywhere. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, these crises were taken care of – always the one that was being discussed the loudest. And as hopeless as the situation often seemed due to the many crises, the World Economic Forum was confident in its belief that it could develop solutions.
This year that has become more difficult. Crises were always temporary problems that popped up and then disappeared again. They may have felt overwhelming because of the parallelism and yet – compared to today – they felt sortable. They seemed to be worked off little by little.
But the term multi-crisis no longer feels right this year. The fundamental change in this world no longer feels like a crisis that will eventually end. If Donald Trump becomes US President for a second time, it will be more than an oversight on the part of the Americans. When people around the world hope that the State of Israel will soon no longer exist, it is a reminder of dark times that no one would dismiss as a crisis. If more and more authoritarians come to power in Europe and at the same time it is surrounded by dictatorial rulers, then everything can really change. Then nothing can be sorted anymore.
So this is the new situation in which the World Economic Forum is taking place. Actually, the claim to improve the world in Davos always pointed to the future, to a better future. Maybe 2024 will be the first year in which people long for the past a little bit. And so it’s also about restoring trust in a positive future – confidence and optimism. It’s no longer about a bit of sustainability in the supply chain, it’s not about gender equality, it’s about the big picture: Will this world get better in the next few years? Is it going uphill or downhill?
Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, said a few days ago: “The only way forward is to come together and find solutions.” The World Economic Forum is not a meeting where concrete results are negotiated. It’s about exchanging ideas, networking and having conversations next to the big stage.
So who will be there? The most anticipated guest is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj, who is there in person for the first time. Those coming from Europe include EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Prime Minister Li Qiang is coming from China, the new President Javier Milei has been announced from Argentina and Foreign Minister Antony Blinken from the USA. US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not take part.
The war in Gaza also plays a major role at this year’s meeting. In addition to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the prime ministers of Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon are coming. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will also speak on the topic of “Securing an Unsafe World”.
In addition to politics, guests come primarily from business; around 800 executives are traveling, according to the organization. The biggest topic in this area will certainly be artificial intelligence. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, current Microsoft boss Satya Nadella and Sam Altman, head of the chat GPT company OpenAI, are among those discussing this.
The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum will not solve the crises, it will not be able to revive hope for a better future. But maybe people who haven’t done so for too long will talk to each other. And that could be a role model for all the people for whom the meeting in Davos is the most terrible symbol of “those up there”.
