Protesters have taken to the streets of Zurich, rallying against the World Economic Forum and the impending visit of former US President Donald Trump. This public demonstration sets the stage for a tense gathering in Davos, where global elites are bracing for what has been bluntly termed "dinosaur diplomacy."
A T Rex in the Alps: The Unprecedented Tension
The annual World Economic Forum meeting, typically a venue for scrupulously polite debate among the world's business and political leaders, has been upended by the spectre of Donald Trump's attendance. As the event commenced on Tuesday, California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom offered a stark analogy for dealing with the week's star speaker. "There's no diplomacy with Donald Trump: he's a T rex. You mate with him or he devours you," Newsom stated, capturing the nervous atmosphere permeating the Swiss Alps congress centre.
Throughout the blond wood conference halls, the hottest topic among delegates has been Trump's intemperate attack on European allies, including his threat of punitive tariffs if they fail to acquiesce to his desire to annex Greenland. This controversial stance has created palpable anxiety among European leaders who addressed the forum on Tuesday.
European Leaders Sound the Alarm
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasised that recent chaotic events underscore the necessity for what she described as "a new form of European independence." She cautioned against expecting a return to normalcy, asserting that "nostalgia will not bring back the old order."
French President Emmanuel Macron, wearing mirrored aviation sunglasses due to an eye condition, delivered a speech laden with criticism and sarcasm. "It's great to be here and it's a time of peace, stability and predictability," he remarked, eliciting peals of laughter from the audience. Macron went on to warn of "a shift toward autocracy against democracy ... a shift towards a world without rules where international law is trampled underfoot."
The French leader suggested that unless Trump retreats from his Greenland threat, Europe may deploy its anti-coercion instrument, colloquially known as the "trade bazooka," potentially imposing sweeping sanctions and tariffs. "Can you imagine? This is crazy," Macron added, highlighting the unprecedented nature of the confrontation.
Transatlantic Divisions on Full Display
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, who revitalised his party's electoral fortunes partly through an "elbows up" stance against Trump, used his keynote speech to sound the death knell for the rules-based global order. Quoting diverse sources from Thucydides to former Czech leader Václav Havel, Carney warned: "There is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along. To accommodate. To avoid trouble. To hope that compliance will buy safety – it won't." Echoing Newsom's earlier warning, he added: "If you are not at the table, you are on the menu."
Meanwhile, Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick presented a combative defence of the US position at a separate panel discussion. "We are here to make a very clear point: globalisation has failed the west and the United States of America. It's a failed policy," Lutnick declared. He argued that globalisation has "left America behind" and "left American workers behind," urging other nations to similarly prioritise their own interests.
Lutnick predicted that the Greenland "kerfuffle" would eventually be resolved through dialogue rather than trade war, insisting that "when America shines, the world shines." This perspective highlights the fundamental divergence in worldview between the US delegation and their European counterparts.
The Stage is Set for a Dramatic Confrontation
As Donald Trump prepares to address the Davos forum on Wednesday, analysts suggest he may seek to woo his audience rather than create fresh drama. However, with both sides of an increasingly raw global divide clearly articulated, and protesters demonstrating in Zurich against the forum itself, the conditions are ripe for significant confrontation.
The World Economic Forum, traditionally a bastion of global cooperation and polite discourse, finds itself at the epicentre of a fundamental challenge to the international order. European leaders' warnings about autocracy, imperialism, and a rules-free world contrast sharply with the America-first rhetoric emanating from the US delegation, setting the stage for what promises to be one of the most memorable Davos gatherings in recent history.
