DAVOS DISENCHANTMENT 

LACK OF CONSENSUS IN TACKLING THE WORLD’S ECONOMIC WOES 

Renee Horne- London 3 February 2012

In the picturesque Swiss Alpine resort of Davos the world’s top 1% consisting of business and political titans gathered for five days of deliberations to discuss a wide range of topics from the environment to fixing capitalism. Instead of achieving consensus, this exclusive club was split, with business leaders more optimistic about the future than economists and political leaders.  At the start of the conference, expectations were high given the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2012 motto, “Great Transformation and Shaping of Models”, a commitment to improving the state of the world. However, when the final curtain fell, the forum’s overall statement, “In short, the outlook, after a week of intense discussion, is of a troubled world pressed for solutions across a number of fronts, but with optimism provided by human ingenuity and progress”.  From this statement it appears that Davos, which aimed for big resolutions ultimately fell flat.  Reports stated that “while the forum's annual meeting attracted a record 2,600 leaders….Missing were the big debates and announcements that had made the forum a top agenda setter in past years”.  So what can one take away from a DISAPPOINTING DAVOS 2012? 

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