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Davos Diary: Putin blames US for woes
The opening evening at the World Econ-omic Forum in Davos had the extraordinary combination of speeches from Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of China, and Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister and former president of Russia.
- By Francis Matthew, Editor at Large
- Published: 22:59 January 29, 2009
The opening evening at the World Econ-omic Forum in Davos had the extraordinary combination of speeches from Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of China, and Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister and former president of Russia.
We all wanted to know how these two leaders would tackle the growing global recession from their two very different perspectives.
The difference was extraordinary: Jiabao gave a very detailed speech, listing what China is doing, speaking with a very slow and very intense delivery. He appeared believable. On the other hand, Putin sounded very determined and listed the steps Russia is taking, but then he moved off into a call for restructuring the relationship between oil producers and customers which comes at a strange time considering Russia's recent halting of gas deliveries to Europe. He spoke with little expression, and appeared to be saying what the audience would want to hear.
Both speakers had every chance to prepare for this meeting, but Putin's performance left us all thinking that he did not mean what he said, except when he took pleasure in putting the blame on the United States for the current economic crisis. He described the recession as a "perfect storm" which has total effects which multiplied well beyond their individual parts. He took some delight in saying that while this was totally unexpected in the West, he saw the recession as unexpected as winter in Russia.
Wen spoke in Mandarin, and when he alternated with the translator we could all concentrate on his very focused and determined way of talking. He was very specific, and was very convincing in describing how China was boost domestic consumption (essential to help correct China's trade surplus, and when asked about 2009 growth rates, he predicted growth of around eight per cent, which he thought would be tough but attainable. This puts China in the growth range that will support recovery world-wide. Its previous 12 per cent is no longer possible, but a Chinese growth rate of around five or four per cent would make the global recession vastly deeper.
It was very moving to hear Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, be so profoundly personal in his expression of horror at what he found in Gaza, when he launched a flash appeal for $613 million (Dh2.2 billion) humanitarian aid, having described the war in Gaza as an "unacceptable and terrible situation."
It is very rare for a world leader and major diplomat to stop talking in clichés and expose his private views so bluntly. He described the 6,600 dead and injured from the three-week war in Gaza, and made the point that a third of these people were women and children. And then he said, "As a father myself, I share the trauma these families have experienced". He added that "I gave the people of Gaza my word. I promised that the United Nations would do all in its power to help". He ended his statement on what the people of Gaza need in humanitarian aid, saying, "I appeal to the world to keep my word."
The mix of nationalities in Davos has changed this year. There is much less representation from the Gulf and Arab world, although I have certainly met several delegates from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. But is seems that last year's focus on the Gulf as the source of the supposedly fabulously huge sovereign wealth funds has shifted away as the meeting looks at much wider global issues.
There are many Europeans and Americans around, all eagerly looking for a solution to their problems. And there is still a large number of Indians offering their consistently practical and optimistic experiences. What is new is the large Chinese contingent, maybe due to their president talking at the event, but also due to their increasingly plugged in attitude to the rest of the world..
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