DAVOS 2025: THE LAST STAND OF THE LIBERAL GLOBALISTS

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by Harley Schlanger, LaRouche Organization:

Though it is likely a coincidence that the opening of this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting took place on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, it is no coincidence that Trump’s return to the White House has been the leading topic in Davos.  This was acknowledged by WEF founder Klaus Schwab in his introduction of Trump on January 23, when he said that Trump’s return, and his policies, “have been at the focus of our discussions this week.”

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Indeed, the usual convivial atmosphere of a comfortable club of wealthy corporate oligarchs, accompanied by the think tankers, politicians and media figures they finance, gathering in the snow-covered majesty of the Swiss Alps, was disrupted by reports of the furious pace of the first days of Trump’s presidency.  The normally self-confident, high-flying jet-set corporate elites took on the appearance of an anxiety-ridden countergang, unsure of how to proceed!

The Washington Post’s columnist Ishaan Tharoor captured this mood shift in a piece titled “Trump’s return and the final ‘rupture’ of liberalism,” identifying the re-emergence of Trump as the cause of “the awkwardness of the moment.”

This uncertainty was conveyed in the pre-summit briefing given by Schwab’s successor as the president of the WEF, Borge Brende, “We are in the middle of two orders,” he said, during a pre-summit briefing with reporters last week.  The “post-Cold War” era, in which the WEF had a dominant presence in a world shaped by liberal triumphalism and globalization, is over, Brende stated, “and now it’s an unruly time because we don’t know what the new order will be.”

AN “UNCERTAIN” ECONOMIC FUTURE

Coherent with the pessimism of Brende were comments from WEF’s Vice Chair, Philipp Hildebrand, who said their analysts conclude that they expect “more uncertainty and volatility” ahead.  He warned that Europe is “uncompetitive” in the face of “transformational forces shaping the economy, and a fragmented geopolitical landscape.”  The biggest concern, Hildebrand continued, is that inflation is not over, it is stubborn and will require “permanent tightness” — i.e., high interest rates — to combat.  He pointed to “political paralysis” in Europe, where the “traditional drivers,” France and Germany, “are not driving at the moment.”

This situation has been exacerbated by the election of Donald Trump, who has been quite open in his criticism of Europe.  In preparation for his return, the {New York Times} reports that the European Council (EC) set up an unofficial “Trump task force”, to work on possible responses to changes in U.S. trade and foreign policy.  The EC is planning to meet on February 3 outside Brussels, to discuss a coordinated response to the anticipated changes.  British Prime Minister Starmer will be among those attending, the first time for participation by the U.K. in an EC meeting since Brexit.  At the top of the agenda will be how to counter the direction voiced by the U.S. president throughout his campaign, and repeated since his inauguration: an end to the war in Ukraine; addressing “unfair trade policies” of Europe, with threats of across-the-board tariffs; and his attack on the EU’s “Green New Deal.”

The latter has been at the top of the concerns of EU bureaucrats given that one of Trump’s first actions was to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, as he had done during his first term in 2017.  In her address at Davos, EC President Ursula von der Leyen, who has been at the forefront of the effort to “Trump-proof Europe”, said they will “stay the course….The Paris agreement continues to be the best hope for all humanity.”  She was backed by U.N. Climate Chief Simon Stiell, who said “The world is undergoing an energy transition that is unstoppable.”

This “unstoppable transition” is based on an anti-scientific jihad against CO2 and the shift to wind and solar energy, which when combined with the shut down of nuclear energy, sanctions against Russian oil and gas, and the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline, has had a devastating effect on Germany.  High electricity prices are part of the reason Germany is undergoing a radical deindustrialization.  Further, the Green regulations are stifling investment, and many traditional German companies are laying off workers and moving their production facilities to China and the U.S.  Stiell added that the EU must guard against “crisis fatigue” when it comes to climate!

FEAR OF PUTIN

Another aspect of the delusion in Europe is the intent to continue the war against Russia, with Ukraine as the club wielded.  Davos hosted President Zelensky of Ukraine on Day 2, whose pep talk was a thinly-disguised cover for another one of his panhandling extravaganzas.  While stating that he hoped Trump would continue the Biden-Blinken policy of NATO support for a war to “weaken Russia”, he warned that Europe must be prepared to wage it without the U.S.  Europe must be aware, he said, that it is “not a top security priority for the U.S. under Trump.”  He taunted the U.S. President, asking, “Will Trump even notice Europe?  Does he see NATO as necessary?  And will he respect EU institutions?”

He then pivoted to an attack on Putin and Russia.  Who are Putin’s allies? he asked.  North Korea and Iran — and allied against whom?  “Against you, against all of us.  Against Europe, against America.”

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