Any advantage that politicians see in attending the World Economic Forum are these days weighed against the disadvantage of being seen to attend. Brexit has kept Theresa May away from Davos this year. The gilets jaunes protests have persuaded Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, to give it a miss. Both leaders are too busy grappling with crises born in a backlash against globalisation to visit a jamboree for business elites.
Of western Europe’s three most powerful states, only Germany is represented by the head of government. In a sombre speech on Wednesday, Angela Merkel warned of brittleness in the international rules-based order. She pledged to defend the “global architecture” but warned also that reform is essential to win back legitimacy in the eyes of people who feel financially insecure, left behind, and who turn to extremists for redress.
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2FJLbPl
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