If Davos can't tackle Trump on tariffs, what's it even for?

Soon after his inauguration, Donald Trump will address the Davos World Economic Forum. His appearance is being hailed by the Davos groupies as a feather in the gathering’s cap, a sign that it really matters.

- CHRIS BLACKHURST

That the new US president will be speaking virtually is skated over. So too is the fact this will be the third time he has addressed the summit. More telling, though, will be the manner of his delivery. It will be a lecture, a talking-to, Trump informing them exactly how he sees it and what they can expect from his second term. And if tariffs are something they’re worried about, don’t expect any hard challenges from his audience.

The truth is that Trump does not need them – none of the business leaders present hold any sway over him. He will do what he wants and they must lump it. Nevertheless, Trump’s speech is being held up as a sign that Davos is vital. Spoiler alert: it isn’t, never has been and never will – no matter how much the delegates want us to believe it.

They present their annual talkfest as an event of major global significance; a conference that reshapes the planet, and is responsible for influencing political, economic and social currents. It’s nothing of the sort.

This year, the attendees have listed wars, extreme weather and disinformation as their biggest concerns. That sounds mightily grand, but they’re the issues that many ordinary people would give if pressed to think globally and just as they cannot curb them, neither can those assembling in the Alpine ski resort.

That’s not what those jetting into Switzerland and trekking up the mountainside would say. They will insist their discussions carry real weight, that the world and its political leaders are hanging on their every word.