DAVOS: Surrounded by snowy mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps, the world’s rich and powerful rub shoulders at Davos, with only one man dominating their chats: US President Donald Trump.

“This year, the elephant is in the room,” quipped Graham Allison, professor of government at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Last year, the ghost of Trump stalked the forum’s halls after storming to victory in the Iowa caucuses that put him on course for the White House.

A quirk of the calendar meant that as Trump’s inauguration ceremony was held in the US Capitol on Monday, this year’s World Economic Forum got started for a week’s worth of networking by day, and shenanigans and partying by night.

As a result, the forum has been eclipsed by Trump, who will address it via video link on Thursday. He attended the forum twice during his first presidency.

Some may have been forgiven for wondering if the inauguration was a mini-Davos of its own, with the world’s richest men attending, including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

Parties across Davos had screens tuned in to the inauguration, including one hosted by The Washington Post, owned by Bezos, while many journalists were huddled around their phones in corners and desks to watch Trump officially return.

“All are fascinated, some are terrified, some are amused recognising it’s going to be exciting, most are uncertain,” Allison, who has been attending the forum for around 40 years, said.

Despite his dominance, when EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese vice premier Ding Xuexiang spoke on Tuesday, neither uttered Trump’s name.

`Unpredictable’

On the main promenade where governments and companies set up shop with bold and bright store fronts to attract some of the attention of the nearly 3,000 attendees, the USA House stands out with a large eagle and the US flag on display.

One Swiss construction business chief described Trump as “unpredictable”.

“It just started, we have to wait and see,” said the executive. “Let’s see if he does what he said he was going to do.”

She hoped his speech on Thursday would offer clarity on what direction he would take, but noted: “Today, America is ready to do anything to succeed.”

Her interview was interrupted by an acquaintance who did not shy away from his fervent support for Trump.

“I’m extremely optimistic, very happy and euphoric for the world after Trump’s inauguration,” the businessman said, hiding his badge in a bid to remain anonymous.

“We have hope,” he said, before hurrying off.

The exchange demonstrated the pendulum swing of emotions at Davos as well as the unease in the business world for Trump 2.0.

While some executives deeply admire the billionaire president who himself was a businessman, others fear his protectionist, America-first approach could hurt global trade and do untold damage to the multilateralism ideals espoused by the Davos elite.

Long-term challenges

Academics worldwide are also concerned about his first moves, including planned withdrawals from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organisation.

“All that is going to affect the work we do globally but also people’s lives,” said Jemilah Mahmood, executive director of the Sunway centre for Planetary Health in Malaysia, referring to the two decisions.

Mahmood also insisted that despite the news across the Atlantic, Trump “doesn’t dominate the entire conversation” at the forum.

“Am I optimistic? Not really. Am I pessimistic? Yes, a little,” she said.

“Trump is going to be in office for four years, the challenges we have will last more than four years.”

Published in Dawn, January 22th, 2025