Swiss misses (and hits)

Our annual review of the moving and shaking at Davos

“SOCIAL warming has joined global warming as our biggest challenge,” Alvaro Rodriguez, a Mexican businessman and social entrepreneur, told a group of Davos men and women at last week’s World Economic Forum (WEF). They didn’t need much convincing: while they brainstormed in the Swiss mountains, strikes and riots convulsed the world. There was plenty of enthusiasm, too, for Mr Rodriguez’s solution: promote entrepreneurship in places that, at least until a few months ago, were considered emerging, rather than submerging, markets.

So Davos men and women agreed: the global economic crisis is also a time of great opportunity. That duality defined this year’s WEF, which despite rumours of important people staying away and of a ban on parties, was as busy and boisterous as ever. Here are our other highlights:

Doctor Doom: Nouriel Roubini comfortably saw off Robert Shiller, George Soros, Stephen Roach and Nassim Nicholas Taleb in the dismal-science celebrity death match by predicting the end of the world as we know it. “Why are there so many gloomy economists here?” asked one Davos Man, before concocting a Darwinian theory of natural selection whereby any economist who was optimistic at Davos last year did not get invited back. So if the world has not ended next January, perhaps Davos has seen the last of Mr Roubini.

ReutersPutting on his friendliest face

Doctor Evil: Everybody had a Vladimir Putin story, even if it was only remarking on how bizarre it was to hear the Russian leader talk of the need for international co-operation while adopting the most hostile body language and persona in WEF history. His cruel dismissal of an offer of help by Michael Dell left the computer entrepreneur looking like he had been punched by Vitaly Klitschko, the (Ukrainian) heavyweight champion of the world, also a Davos attendee.

Book of the week: Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, said he was re-reading Adam Smith’s “Theory of Moral Sentiments”. How many of the capitalists at Davos could say the same? Indeed, how many of them have read it once?

Absent Friends: Reportedly, a visitor without a hotel room tried to check in to the Belvedere as John Thain, an executive recently ousted by Bank of America and no longer welcome in Davos, only to be told that Mr Thain had already arrived. Happily, he got a room when he said, “Actually, I'm Larry Summers.” While failed bankers were not much missed, the lack of heavyweight representation from the Obama administration led some to wonder if Davos was losing its relevance. Others suspect that Team Obama will turn out in force next year, rather than leave the stage to Mr Wen and his brand of Sino-Scottish capitalism.

Best catchphrase: “Doing an Erdogan”, Davos-speak for hissy fit, after Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, stormed off stage and flew home when he was not allowed to respond to a long rant by Shimon Peres. Runner up: a remarkable number of grey-haired political leaders and company bosses have adopted as their own British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s self-promoting rallying cry that “Now is no time for novices”.

Top celebrity: No Bono or Brangelina this year, but Davos was not celebrity-free. Jet Li, a Chinese movie star, stole the show. At a session called “From Philanthrocapitalism to Philanthrocrisis?”, he asked Bill Clinton if he could call him “my brother” (yes). He then energised an audience keen for an injection of optimism by describing how he persuaded 1m Chinese to donate to One Foundation, his charity.

Outrageous speculation: Goldman Sachs survived the financial crisis, just, but will it survive the recovery, given how many of its talented bankers are preparing to escape the dead-hand of government regulation by quitting to start their own investment firms? Will Microsoft finally be killed off by Google, the launch of whose free “G-drive” operating system is said to be imminent?

Most alarming statistic: A survey of opinion in 20 countries by Edelman, a public relations firm, found that public trust in business leaders has plunged to new lows. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they trust corporations less today than they did a year ago. The plunge was most dramatic in America: only 38% say they trust business to do what is right (a 20% drop from last year) and just 17% say they trust information from a company’s chief executive.

Best jokes: Q. What is the capital of Iceland? A. About two krona. Q. What is the difference between Ireland and Iceland? A. One letter and about six months.

Least likely terrorist: An Icelandic entrepreneur furiously points to the website Icelanders Are Not Terrorists. Listening to Gordon Brown talk about international co-operation in Davos has been unbearable, he says, given the British prime minister’s use of international anti-terror laws to attack Iceland’s banking system. One-third of Iceland’s population has signed the petition on the website, so when recession-hit Brits send Mr Brown into exile, he had best not go there.

Top letter: A tie between B and J. Many at Davos thought that the best way to save the world economy is to focus on “Banks, banks, banks”, while others called for “Jobs, jobs, jobs”. Either way, the WEF intends to launch a high-level organisation to advise the leaders of the G20 countries on “shaping the post-crisis world”.

Best party: The parties were supposed to have been toned down, but that was just spin. True, some banks thought twice about spending taxpayers’ money on grand cru, though JPMorgan offered cocktails. But reports that McKinsey was not bringing its much-loved dance band happily proved false. Google again delivered the goods, turning its so-called “lounge” into such a hip nightclub that bouncers blocked the corridor of the luxurious Belvedere hotel, forcing irate movers and shakers to wait in line. The bouncers claimed to be Google employees. One was asked if he worked for media relations. He replied, “No, for business development”. For Google’s sake, let’s hope not.

Most inspiring moment: Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking to pupils at the Dignity Day held in a school in Davos, followed by Peter Gabriel singing his great protest song about the death of Steve Biko, a South African anti-apartheid campaigner. In these dark days, the hopeful words of the song seem even more powerful: “You can blow out a candle,/ But you can’t blow out a fire./ Once the flames begin to catch,/ The wind will blow it higher.” That fire is the right sort of social warming.