Davos elite to meet in the political cold
The 3,000 business, political and academic leaders attending the World Economic Forum are more isolated than ever
London/Geneva — The Davos elite gathering next week behind metal detectors in a concrete bunker in the Swiss Alps to discuss the state of the world will be isolated in more ways than one. The 3,000 business, political and academic leaders attending the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) annual meeting from January 17-20 will find themselves further outside the political consensus than ever before, after a year that saw backlashes against "elites" roil politics on both sides of the Atlantic. Even as equity markets surge on the bet that US president-elect Donald Trump will usher in an era of deregulation, his inauguration on the final day of the forum will remind attendees of the arrival of an aggressive new populist-in-chief. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to kick off in Washington at about the time that 6,700km away, Davos attendees, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, General Motors CEO Mary Barra and World Bank president Jim Yong Kim will be contemplating the event’s slate o...
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