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WEF Davos 2023The grim record of Alain Berset at the Davos Forum
Alain Berset this Tuesday at the WEF in Davos.
DR
On this first morning of the World Economic of Davos 2023, the President of the Confederation, Alain Berset, gave a speech with pessimistic accents on the progress of the world in front of a full house. In the introduction, WEF boss Klaus Schwaab began by talking about the “unprecedented” challenges facing world leaders today: “Existential questions arise with the climate, the exploitation of nature, the nuclear energy and extreme poverty. All of these could lead to the extinction of certain populations on earth,” he concluded.
Alain Berset began his speech by evoking Russian aggression in Ukraine and the great solidarity of other countries. “Switzerland will do everything to strengthen international law and multilateralism, he recalled (…) The world needs strong multilateral platforms, because the greatest current challenges are transnational, such as climate change, migrations, security or the environment”
Democracy in peril
For Alain Berset, the WEF is “a place of optimism and a spirit of success that is particularly important in times of crisis”. He recalled the 2012 edition, where Klaus Schwaab had encouraged participants to act against inequalities: “This warning was particularly true and far-sighted, notes the president, but since then inequalities have continued to grow. Inequalities are as great as 20 years ago.
For the President of the Confederation, these inequalities favor the emergence of populism and “undermine social cohesion by looking for scapegoats.” He made this alarming observation: “At the time about 50% of the world’s population lived in a democratic system, today this proportion has fallen to 20%”.
More social equity
“We must take measures to defend the foundations of civilized coexistence,” continued Alain Berset. We have thought a lot here at the WEF about efficiency and prosperity, but too little about social equity. States are further weakened by climate change, the pandemic or the war in Ukraine. Around 350 million people in more than 80 countries are today at acute risk of starvation. This is 200 million more than before the pandemic”.
Support fragile states
Referring to the situation of African countries, whose growth has been hampered by the war in Ukraine, the President spoke of fragile states: “Their problems are exported to neighboring countries or distant regions in the form of corruption or terrorism. We must do everything to support fragile states. Fragility is a threat to all of us. This is true at the national level and also at the international level”.