Germany’s Chancellor Scholz, Argentina’s President Milei and someone who understands Putin are appearing at the WEF, as “Switzerland at the Weekend” has learned. But what about the future US President Trump?
Patrik Müller and Renzo Ruf / ch media
Only a few days before the annual meeting, which will take place from January 20th to 24th, 2025, the World Economic Forum is publishing its guest list. Nevertheless, “Switzerland at the Weekend” has reliable information about the participants.
The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East will be an important topic. Mark Rutte, the new Secretary General of the NATO defense alliance, will make several appearances. Ukraine is once again present with a strong delegation. For security reasons, it will only be known at short notice whether President Volodymyr Zelenskyj will travel to Davos again. Russian state representatives remain excluded. But Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, a top politician who is close to Putin, is present.
Possible new edition in Davos: Federal President Viola Amherd, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj.Bild: keystone
Until the Covid pandemic, China was always represented at a high level and in large numbers in Davos. That changed, and the war in Ukraine presented China’s leadership with a dilemma: they wanted to avoid a clear position towards Russia. But China will return to the stage in 2025, and the delegation from government and companies is expected to number a hundred.
Xi Jinping is toying with Davos
However, it remains unclear whether President Xi Jinping will also travel in person, as he did in 2017. His participation depends, among other things, on whether he accepts Donald Trump’s invitation to his inauguration ceremony on January 20th in Washington (which would be rather surprising).
Trump himself was the only US president to attend the WEF twice: in 2018 and 2020. Since those visits, there have been close connections between the Trump universe and the WEF with founder Klaus Schwab. Trump is a true WEF fan. According to well-informed circles, that hasn’t changed because he now has Elon Musk at his side all the time. He once claimed to have rejected an invitation to Davos because it was “boring” there. Which meant that Musk hadn’t been invited at all.
Huge media interest: Donald Trump at his first WEF participation in January 2018.Bild: KEYSTONE
But Trump has canceled the upcoming WEF. According to reports, he is sending five members of his administration to the Alps. He also held out the prospect of coming to Davos in 2026. He did it this way in his first term in office – the inauguration ceremony and the first days in office, which already collided with the WEF, were the reason for his resignation. And this time Trump has planned a huge number of “executive orders” that he wants to issue subito.
There is talk of around 25 presidential decrees on “Day One”, including: resumption of construction of the border wall with Mexico; Start of mass deportation of people who entered the country illegally; Abolishing birthright rights for children born on U.S. soil; energy policy decisions for more oil production; Pardoning criminals involved in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and more. Trump backtracked on his full-throated announcement that he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours.
Berset and seven federal councilors
In Davos, Trump would have met, among others, an old acquaintance from Switzerland: Alain Berset. He is no longer at the WEF as Federal President, as was the case in 2018 (he met with Trump for almost an hour), but as Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
At that time, there were “only” five Federal Councilors in Davos. In 2025, the Swiss state government will be present for the first time with seven members, i.e. completely, as insiders say. Led by Federal President Karin Keller-Sutter. There is also Chancellor Viktor Rossi – it is a first for him.
Lindner, Habeck, Scholz: The representatives of the broken traffic light are present in Davos (archive photo).Image: DPA
“We have to talk about Europe”: That is probably the message that Europe’s governments are sending out with a massive presence. For example, Germany: The traffic light has broken, but its most powerful representatives – Olaf Scholz (SPD), Robert Habeck (Greens) and Christian Lindner (FDP) – have registered. Likewise the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who comes from Germany.
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