Day 4 in Davos was a day to “dismantle the ideological edifice of sickly wokeism” that the World Economic Forum has proudly represented over the last few decades. This quote, from Argentine populist president, Javier Milei’s controversial speech, started a day of harsh reality for the embattled business organization’s globalist ambitions.
The activists managing the WEF are starting to panic like their house is on fire (…and it is).
Milei’s blistering speech included damnations of how Davos contributed to the “wokeism” that has penetrated Western institutions in advancing socialist ideology by expanding power and further state intervention while denying basic rights. An emerging market perspective of these corrupt supranationals and the damage they have imposed on developing countries was so badly needed.
“And no one here can feign innocence. For decades there has been a worship of a sinister and murderous ideology as if it were a golden calf, moving heaven and earth to impose it on humanity. And this organization, along with other influential supranational bodies, have been the ideologues of this barbarity. Multilateral lending organizations have been instruments of extortion, while many national governments, and especially the European Union, have acted as their armed wing.”
Javier Milei’s speech should be required viewing in universities.
European social ideology was under attack throughout the day at the WEF, with their failure to provide economic growth, energy security or military defense coming under the microscope. There was no talk today of degrowth, resets, conscious capitalism or ESG in the halls and corridors of the Davos conference center. The nine buzzwords for this year’s WEF did not include any terms referencing the “environment under threat” dogma that had plagued previous Davos agenda. Most of this year’s buzzwords referred to AI, tech infrastructure, demographic shifts and, of course, tariffs.
As an aside, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, was in Davos today to remind participants that the WTO is "about much more than tariffs". Right. But without leaders who can stand up and champion free trade, we need to wonder if the WTO will still exist by this time next year.
The 2024 political shift to the right has made populists like Javier Milei or Victor Orban less lonely on the world stage. As Germany is next to “dismantle the ideological edifice of sickly wokeism” and then, likely, Canada later this year, the business community should be taking note of the shifting landscape and new opportunities for investment and innovation.
And all of this was happening before the Donald had even made his triumphal entrance.
A Revolution of Common Sense
At 5pm, Klaus Schwab summed up Davos 2025 when introducing Donald Trump, saying that his election, inauguration and first days were the only thing most of the 3000 political and business leaders were talking about for the last four days.
Trump’s speech, via video link, did not waste time declaring his “Revolution of Common Sense” by implementing plans to deregulate, cut spending, cut corporate and personal taxes, promote investment in the US and impose tariffs on those who do not build products in the US.
The speech was peppered with the usual bravado, superlatives, narcissism, invectives and arrogance that has become Trademark Trump, but through it all, the transactional president let it be known that any diplomatic fluff (what EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen must mean by “The European Way”) had no value.
And of course the American president lofted an opaque comment to confuse the audience, blaming the Saudi Crown Prince for prolonging the Ukraine-Russia war (by keeping oil prices high). No words.
Common sense, direct, transactionalistic and undiplomatically in your face, Trump sent a message to the world leaders and business community at Davos: Realpolitik is back. Unlike Larry Fink’s hypocrisy that we covered in the Firebreak’s Day 3 Davos Dump, in this new world, you will be judged on what you do rather than on some aspirational nonsense you simply say. The “Davos Way” (of not calling out people for past erroneous statements or failed policies) has become a dead end.
The panel that asked questions after the speech was indicative of the lack of leadership in the business world. Stephen Schwarzman from Blackstone, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan (and World Economic Forum luminary), Ana Botín from Santander and Patrick Pouyanné from TotalEnergies asked polite questions and allowed Trump to insult them and their companies. After ripping into Bank of America for not allowing conservatives to open accounts, Moynihan responded by saying how happy he was that his bank would sponsor the World Cup in the US. Often Trump ignored the panel’s questions, riffing instead on something unrelated, and no one held him to answer their concerns.
“Davos Man” is fast becoming a straw man. As long as there are weak people too afraid to face confrontation and hold leaders to their words, the business world will continue to suffer under the prejudiced weight of regulators and populists. Even the WEF president and long-time diplomat, Børge Brende, kept his kid gloves on while gushing over the hope that the US president will come to Davos in person next year. Sycophants.
On the social level, Trump declared that America has become a merit-based country. From Milei’s speech in the morning to Trump’s attacks at the end of the afternoon, a long day at Davos closed with the first steps in “dismantling the ideological edifice” of the World Economic Forum.
Did the WEF social justice ideologues finally get the message? That’s not the Davos Way. They politely clapped and then huddled among themselves.